The Rhino Ranger Arc: Rewritten
by Knightwood
Summary: My own version of the Rhino Ranger arc. RJ's friend comes back after travelling for years seeking a purpose. He'll find it with the Rangers, but how easy a journey will it be?
1. A Rhino Arrives

Sorry it took so long to get this story up here; it's taken me a while to gather my thoughts. Here's my version of Dominic becoming part of the group. It will take place during the Rhino Nexus story arc, so as usual, where the script overlaps with the script of the show, Disney owns the rights, I don't. Hope you enjoy it. Now to get the usual stuff out of the way.

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers or the associated characters, names, places, events etc. Where the script overlaps with the scripts of one of the episodes, again I do not own the rights. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.

**Rating: **T – May be some adult material.

**Timeline: **Following the events of "Left Outside Alone" and "Wolves Make Bad Patients."

The sky melted slowly from a deep purple into a blazing orange in the early hours of the morning as a single small ship pulled into Ocean Bluff harbour. A young, blonde man looked out over the skyline thoughtfully. Not many of the other passengers were out on deck yet, but he wanted to see the next stop on his travels. He always liked the feeling of arriving in a new city. Six long years of travelling had lead him around much of the world, but recently he'd felt an unexplainable, irresistible pull to touch base with his past back in the states with Pai Zhuq.

Dominic had been more than a little curious when he started feeling the power drawing him back to the temple, but that hadn't been satisfied. Although he had written to Master Mao to find out why he would suddenly be getting these feelings after all this time, he hadn't received a reply. It had been almost four months since he'd written, and while he knew it took letters a while to arrive, it shouldn't have taken this long to get a reply. Pulling out a page from a telephone directory, he inspected the address he'd circled on the sheet. He'd heard that his long-time friend RJ had opened a restaurant in the city, and since this pizza parlour was the only place that had opened within the last two years, he figured that this was likely to be the place.

"Jungle Karma." He sniggered to himself inspecting the ad. It was just RJ's sense of humour to theme his restaurant after his past in the Pai Zhuq temple. He had half expected to see the emblem of the Order of the Claw somewhere in the advert. He had heard that RJ had become a master since he'd left. It didn't really surprise him. Between the two of them, RJ was always the more focussed and driven. Now, it seemed like his old friend was the most likely way to find out why Master Mao wasn't returning his mail.

RJ woke up to find Lily getting ready. The two of them were feeling considerably better following their recent ill health. It made his day to see her so bright and cheerful again. Seeing her applying some makeup in the en-suite, he came over behind her, placing his hands on her hips.

"How are you feeling today?" He asked her, kissing her cheek and reaching past for his razor.

"I'm feeling great." She told him, turning and stroking a little concealer onto the end of his nose. "I'm absolutely starving though."

"Well a couple of days of eating practically nothing will do that to you." He replied, wiping off the makeup chuckling. "I'll make you something."

"Do you need to go into town later?" She asked him.

"I do." He answered, switching on his razor and beginning to shave. "Why, do you want to come?"

"Well you and I still have to do a little shopping." Lily chimed in cheekily, taking amusement in RJ's uncomfortable flinch as she said this. In his delirium he had promised to marry her if he got better. She had kind of guessed that he wasn't being serious, but that didn't mean it wasn't fun to make him squirm a little. She'd already told herself she'd drop the subject and let him off the hook at some time soon, in the meantime though, she was having too much fun with him.

"We'll see what we can manage." He replied with a barely visible gulp. He knew he'd dug himself into a hole with that one. He was still trying to figure out what he planned to do about it. "In the meantime, are you sure you're up to working today?"

"You know I'm feeling a lot better." She told him, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him softly. "Besides, one more day in bed and I'll go completely mad."

RJ could sympathise, he knew she was normally such an active person that it had been particularly bothersome for her to remain in bed and recover. He also had to admit that it would be good to see her back in the restaurant. Leaving to allow her to finish getting ready, he started getting dressed. Today was the day he was planning to his books. He'd been putting it off for a while now, so he knew that he'd be out of the restaurant most of the day.

The sun was fully up by the time the ship arrived in the harbour. Dominic hefted his large bag of belongings onto his shoulder, before stepping off the gangplank onto the dock. It had taken quite a while for the old tub the captain called a ship to clear customs, but Dominic couldn't really complain. He didn't have money for any other method of transport. Now all he had to do was find the restaurant.

Dai Shi struggled through a thick, deep forest. He had been on the trail of the Rhino Nexus for days now, and he knew that by now the Overlords would have noticed his absence. It would only be a matter of time now before they started looking for him. Forcing himself into a clearing, he took the opportunity to check the map. He knew he was on the right track. Forcing himself onwards despite his exhaustion, he noticed a tall, gnarled old tree towering far above any of the others.

"The Rhino Nexus." He breathed with a smile, beholding his destination. It was still quite a distance away, but at least now his objective was in sight. At least now he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It took almost until noon to find it, but Dominic finally found his way to Jungle Karma. He looked around at the decor and had to try hard not to laugh. He didn't need to see RJ, he knew at once he'd found the right place. Only he could get away with designing a restaurant like that. Seeing that the only staff member in the restaurant hadn't noticed him arrive, he decided to have a little fun with her. Pulling off his coat and bag, he put them in the corner before straightening out his hair.

Lily was checking the till roll to make sure the totals tallied when she became aware of someone behind her. Turning around, she saw a stern-looking blonde man in a plaid shirt sanding before her.

"Welcome to Jungle Karma..."

"Agent Fuller, Health department," he rushed out, flashing his wallet at her too quickly for her to register, "we've had complaints."

As the stranger began casting a critical eye around the restaurant, Lily's eyes shot wide in panic. She knew they'd had an inspection not that long ago. He said there had been complaints. What complaints? Had someone heard about her and RJ being ill? They'd had the flu, but admittedly many of the symptoms had been a lot like food poisoning. Maybe someone thought it was and knew they'd returned to work without getting a doctor's clearance. She rushed in behind the inspector as he pushed his way past into the kitchen. She saw Fran, Theo and Casey turning to face him and announced his identity before they could say anything to offend him and cause him to take drastic action.

"This is agent Fuller; he's from the health department." She blurted out quickly. Dominic managed to stop himself from laughing as he saw the panicked reactions on their faces.

"This is going to be messy. You better get the owner." He drawled, gesturing Lily out of the kitchen. "This counter is filthy; let's get this cleaned up, pronto."

Lily ran into the back room, finding RJ sitting in his chair, going through some paperwork.

"Lily, I really need..."

"RJ, there's some guy from the health department downstairs!" She interrupted him in a panic. "He says there have been complaints, he wants to see you."

RJ Pulled himself quickly out of his chair, running his hands through his hair to sort it into some form of order.

"How do I look?" He asked Lily. She knew he always got nervous when the health department sent an inspector around. He was always particularly conscientious about hygiene, but he had worked in restaurants long enough to know that even the cleanest of places could be caught at an inopportune moment. It wouldn't be the first time a perfectly run restaurant was caught in the middle of service by a particularly humourless health inspector and ordered to shut its doors halfway through service.

"You look fine." Lily told him. "He's in the kitchen."

RJ and Lily made their way downstairs, finding the blonde man with his head in the refrigerator, pulling out ingredients. He seemed to be smelling a packet of shredded cheese.

"This cheese smells bad." RJ heard him say in a somewhat familiar voice.

"Whao, whao, whao, whao whao. What's going on here?" RJ asked the man as he arrived from upstairs. "We had an inspection just last..."

Dominic turned around with an evil grin on his face. A large grin split RJ's face as he observed his old friend. He could tell by the looks on his friend's faces that they had fallen victim to one of his pranks. His sense of humour was a cruel and unusual one, which took a lot of getting used to. Casey in particular seemed unhappy, having been squirted in the face with tomato.

"Dominic!" He called out cheerfully, gesturing for a hug. Dominic moved in, greeting his old friend with a hug. RJ turned to the others to introduce him. "This is my old friend from Pai Zhuq, Dominic. Dom, this is Casey, Fran, Theo and Lily."

Fran waved weakly at the new arrival through a kind of strained smile. Casey had a look on his face that suggested he wanted to tear him a new one as he wiped his face with a cloth. Both Theo and Lily looked at him a little confused.

"Gotcha." Dominic said gently. He could already tell that his joke had been more than a little misjudged. They didn't seem too happy about being taken in like that. Casey in particular seemed quite upset. RJ saw the looks on his friend's faces and knew that things were likely to spill over and decided to take Dominic out of the equation.

"So what have you been doing with yourself? The last I heard you were wandering the world like a nomad." RJ began, leading him upstairs to the back room. "And you've got to hear about Dai Shi."

"Dai Shi?" Dominic asked, becoming interested in the conversation. As much as he was a joker at heart, he knew when it was time to get serious. "Dai Shi's been released?"

"Unfortunately yes," RJ told him, "Lily and the others are the protectors. They're helping me fight him."

"I was making my way across India when I just got this feeling I was meant to come home." Dominic told him, sitting on the couch. "I wrote to Master Mao, but I never got an answer. I suppose he's been busy and..." Dominic stopped as he saw the look on RJ's face fall at the mention of their former master's name.

"Dominic, when Dai Shi escaped, Master Mao was killed." He informed him, sitting down with his friend and placing an arm around him. "I'm sorry, I would have told you, but I didn't know where to find you."

"I should have been here." Dominic sighed, wiping away a tear. RJ knew how much he cared about Master Mao. His parents hadn't been there for him much as a kid, so it was kind of a blessing when Master Mao accepted him into the temple. In many ways he was like a father to Dominic, so he knew he would feel bad about not being there for him at the end. "I've been travelling for six years to find myself, and because of that I've lost him. I can't believe I was so selfish."

"Master Mao was the one who told you to go." RJ reminded him. "You weren't ready to stick around and accept the responsibility of being a protector. He knew that."

"But if I'd just stayed I could have done something." He reiterated.

"But you wouldn't have been happy." RJ replied.

Dominic got up from the couch and made his way over to the railing. It still upset him to hear about Master Mao's passing. Resting on the railing, he thought about what was happening. Without him there, Master Mao had chosen others to be protectors. RJ was mentoring them; he really didn't see why he had been drawn to return to Ocean Bluff. Anything he had there had gone when Master Mao died.

"So how long can you stay?" RJ asked him as the other Rangers arrived in the back room.

"Only a couple of days," he replied with a deep sigh. Theo placed Dominic's bag in the corner of the room before turning back to him. "If I stay in one place for too long I get antsy."

RJ was a little troubled by Dominic's reaction. He knew how much Master Mao's death would have meant to him, and he really didn't want Dominic to go off on his own again at this time. At least he had a couple of days to help Dom through this difficult time.

"Well, you're welcome to stay." RJ said cheerfully. "In the meantime we all have work to do."

"I could always help out." Dominic suggested as they made their way downstairs. "I'd love to make pizzas."

An evil smirk crossed Casey's face as he said this. Everyone could tell he was already trying to think of ways to get back at him for the tomato shower.

"I can think of something for you to do." He replied with a knowing nod.

A short time later down in the restaurant, Casey gave him a spatula and gestured to one of the tables. Dominic looked underneath at the multicoloured assortment of hard, discarded chewing gum welded to the underside.

"You want me to scrape gum?" He questioned the Red Ranger. He knew damn fine this was payback for the joke he played earlier. He kind of expected it. By the looks of the tables, they hadn't been scraped in quite a while.

"Well, I'm cleaning the toilets." He replied sarcastically. In truth the bathrooms had been cleaned hours ago, so he was really going to read a magazine for a few minutes. He just wanted to think of a really rotten job to give the new guy. "I'll inspect when you're done."

As Casey left, he didn't even notice that he'd left his solar morpher in his baseball cap on the counter.

Beginning to scrape the first piece of gum, Dominic looked over to where Fran was folding napkins on the counter. He knew he hadn't made a great first impression, and that he should try to straighten things out with the others. Since RJ was out with Lily and Theo, and Casey was in the bathroom, he guessed that Fran would be a good place to start.

"So did you go to Pai Zhuq too?" He asked her, making his way to the counter.

"Me?" She asked a little nervously. She really didn't know what to make of him. He'd been kind of mean when he tricked them all earlier, but RJ seemed to trust him. She'd never had reason to distrust his judgement before, so she figured that was good enough reason to give him a chance. "No, I've barely left Ocean Bluff. The only places I've been are in books."

"In books?" Dominic asked her. He never thought he'd find a way to connect with any of them so easily. He loved to read on long journeys.

"Yeah, why? Is that weird?" She asked. Dominic reached into his pocket and pulled out a paperback.

"I always carry a book with me." He explained, presenting it to her. "When I'm on my own they're kind of like my friends."

Fran giggled nervously as he said this. He seemed totally different from her, so it seemed strange to her that she could find some common ground with him. She'd hidden behind books, using them in lieu of friends for so long; she completely understood his views on the matter.

Dominic Smiled as he saw her reaction to this. He figured he'd found some level on which they could identify with each other.

"The Pirate's Skeleton." He quoted in a mock accent, causing Fran to laugh. "Will ye give me a read matey? Or will ye be a scurvy dog?"

Fran laughed at this and took the book he offered her. She figured he didn't mean any harm. He actually seemed kind of nice when he wasn't pretending to be a health inspector trying to shut them down. Neither of them noticed that in leaning across the counter, Dom had accidentally knocked Casey's glasses into the trash can.

"So, um…what's your…spirit?" She asked him.

"You know about animal spirits?" He asked her, his eyebrows rising a little in surprise. Normally those outside Pai Zhuq didn't know much about animal spirits.

"The others told me a little bit about it." Fran told him. "A while ago I was kidnapped by Dai Shi and Master Mao came to me." Fran almost wished she hadn't told him that. She could see a look of sadness in his face at the mention of his name.

"I'm sorry, I should have thought." She rushed out apologetically.

"It's alright." Dominic replied, turning back to her. "What did he say?"

"He talked to me, keeping me calm while I was imprisoned." She told him. "Then he taught me how to harness my animal spirit."

"He did?" Dominic asked. Fran nodded to confirm this. "Can I see?"

Fran looked around to confirm that the restaurant was empty, before concentrating and bringing forth her fox spirit. It was no longer the tiny cub it once had been, more like the size of a small cat, as though it were a few months old.

"I've been training in Kung Fu under Theo for months." She explained as Dominic watched the fox continued to pace on the counter. "Since I was able to channel the fox spirit, RJ's been giving me some training in using it. It's gotten a little stronger."

"I really like it." He replied. "Somehow it just seems right for you."

"So how about we see your animal spirit?" Fran asked him, gently nudging his shoulder.

"Uh, my spirit isn't really 'indoor friendly' if you get my drift." Dominic answered. "I carry the rhino spirit."

"I guess unleashing that in here would be like putting a bull in a china shop." Fran giggled.

"I guess it would." He responded. As Dominic and Fran laughed and joked with each other, Dominic felt his spirits lifting. For the first time since he'd arrived, he actually felt like he might be able to fit into this group after all. Maybe there was a place for him here.


	2. The Path to Acceptance

Fran was clearing up in the restaurant when Camille came back. Casey had eventually found his morpher in the trash when it started bleeping to alert him to trouble in the city. She could tell that Casey was still giving Dom a hard time and had sent him off after him to see if he could help the Rangers. She could tell that he was trying really hard to make friends; she just wished the others could come out and meet him half way.

"How are you Camille?" Fran asked their former enemy. "Did you find out anything?"

"Nothing useful." She sighed. Camille had left a couple of days ago to seek out an old mystic she'd heard of. Since she'd told the Rangers about the situation with Flit, she'd been searching for a cure for the curse with a renewed vigour. It was as though just letting someone know about her plight had eased enough of the strain for her to escalate her search. "Unfortunately he wasn't familiar with that particular curse."

"Well, don't stop searching for a solution." Fran told her, taking her hand warmly. "I know you'll change him back."

Camille gave her a little half-smile as she changed into her Jungle Karma uniform. She couldn't hide her disappointment; she really had hoped that this would be the lead she was looking for. It wasn't long before the comparative quiet was interrupted as Dominic and the others came back.

"Look, how many times, I'm sorry!" He implored them as they made their way through to the back room, too oblivious to even realise that Camille had returned. "I didn't see that kid on the skateboard."

"Who's the new guy?" Camille asked, surveying the stranger thoughtfully as they disappeared upstairs.

"His name's Dominic." Fran told her. "He's an old friend of RJ's from Pai Zhuq. He's just come back."

"He's kind of cute." She remarked. "What was that all about?"

"Knowing Dominic, he tried to help and fumbled it." Fran responded with a sigh. "He's trying to fit in, but he kind of got off on the wrong foot with the Rangers."

"Well it looks like it won't be too long before we hear what happened." Camille responded nodding in the direction of the door as the Rangers came back into the restaurant, arguing about something.

Back in the back room, RJ watched the Rangers go. He knew Dom wanted to help, he could understand why, but if the Rangers weren't willing to let him on board, then it wasn't going to help matters much.

"Dom, you can't join the team..."

"Unless they want me to," he interrupted, understanding their feelings. Not only had he not really made the greatest first impression, so far he'd managed to fumble his main opportunity to show that he was something other than a goofball. He could understand their reluctance to accept him, but he knew he could help. If he hadn't left, he'd either have become a protector or a master by now, "I guess I have to make them want me."

Dominic wasn't exactly encouraged by the slightly pained expression on RJ's face. He liked Dominic, he really did. He just knew how his attempts to help normally panned out. It wasn't that he was stupid, or that he was a bad person, he just tended not to think things through too deeply before he did them, which would often lead to mistakes at the most inopportune moments.

"Look Dom, I honestly think this might be a 'less is more' scenario." RJ told him thoughtfully. "The guys are still kind of reeling from your little 'health inspector' joke. Maybe you should calm down a little and let them get used to the idea of you being around before you push the whole Ranger thing again."

"Look RJ, Master Mao died and Dai Shi escaped." He stated bluntly. Dominic could be serious when he wanted to, and usually that was time to listen. RJ knew that being away when everything went down had hurt him, maybe now he'd get an idea how much. "I can't do anything to help Master Mao, but I can help defeat Dai Shi, you know I can."

"It's not just me that needs to make the decision." RJ groaned. "There are four of us on the team."

"I'll tell you what, I'll just try helping out in the restaurant and giving them a few tips in training and see how that pans out OK?" He pressed on. "I know the others are pissed with me, Casey especially..."

"The first time you met him you sprayed tomato on his face." RJ reminded him. "What did you expect?"

"I guess that just went a little too far." Dominic admitted, slumping down on the couch. RJ sat beside him and placed an arm around him.

"Lily's a forgiving person. I think she's already warming to you, and I'm sure I can put in a good word." He told his long-time friend. "She has a fair amount of sway over the others. The rest you can do on your own."

"How do you have so much sway over Lily?" Dominic asked. RJ just raised his eyebrows a little. "Seriously?"

"We got together a couple of months back." RJ told him. "She makes me happy."

"I'm really happy for you." Dominic replied. "She seems really nice. You deserve to be happy."

Meanwhile downstairs, the discussion between the Rangers was becoming more than a little heated.

"Look, all I'm saying is we should give him the benefit of the doubt." Lily suggested. "I mean, sure I'm not happy about the way he acted when he arrived, but RJ trusts him and..."

"And we all know that means you're going to side with him regardless of how it affects us." Theo snapped. "Look, just because..."

"Do you REALLY want to go there?" Lily cut him off.

"Look, there's no need to get personal Theo." Casey told him. "We expected Lily to side with RJ, but..."

"Look, I do have a mind of my own guys!" She yelled, slamming a hand on the table in a fit of temper. "I may be swayed slightly by my relationship with RJ, but my first priority when it comes to Dai Shi and the Overlords is the team. I wouldn't suggest letting him help if I thought it would put the team in danger. All I'm saying is maybe we should give him a chance."

"He's been nothing but nice to me." Fran interjected, drawing their attention to the fact that she and Camille were there. "He really means well."

Casey looked at her thoughtfully for a second. He remembered seeing Dominic and Fran in the restaurant earlier laughing and joking with each other. He couldn't tell from the angle he saw them at, but he was sure he saw them holding hands. He hadn't liked Dominic to begin with, but now he had even less reason to trust him. He looked at Theo briefly. He felt bad for his friend, he knew how much he cared about Fran. They'd been dating now for months. He didn't even want to think of how much it would hurt him if Dom really was making moves on his girlfriend.

"I suppose we could let him hang around for a while." Theo relented a little at Fran's assertion. "Maybe all he needs is a chance to prove himself."

Casey now had another reason to dislike the new arrival. It seemed like he was slowly worming his way into the group through the relationships they had. RJ, of course, would vouch for him, Lily had sided with him because she was dating RJ, and now it looked as if Fran had talked Theo into letting him into the group. He hated how much influence he'd exerted over the others, especially since he'd seemed to do it with subterfuge. Not wanting to seem like he was being difficult, he groaned loudly before relenting.

"OK, we'll give him a chance." He grumbled. "But only on trial for a few days."

Lily and Fran left the room, beginning to discuss the new member of the group. Casey locked eyes with Camille and nodded in the direction of the door in a wordless gesture to the woman he'd fallen in love with that he needed to speak with Theo alone. As soon as she'd left, he came to the Blue Ranger's side.

"Look, I don't want to fall out over this." Theo stated, pre-empting Casey being annoyed that Theo didn't side with him. "I just suggested we give him a chance."

"I think we should too." Casey replied. "But if I were you, I'd keep a close watch over him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Theo asked him.

Casey looked around to make sure the restaurant was empty. "I saw him talking with Fran earlier." He informed his friend regretfully. "They seemed to be getting close. It looked to me like they were holding hands."

"You're kidding!" Theo gasped, standing up quickly and sending his stool flying. "You think...?"

"I think he's making a move on Fran." Casey informed him. "You might want to keep an eye on him."

Theo sat back down in the restaurant as the weight of what Casey had said hit him. Was Dominic really trying to take Fran from him? He could understand why he would. Fran was such an amazing young woman, and it wasn't as if Dominic had much reason to be loyal to them. He didn't know them, and they hadn't exactly welcomed him with open arms.

He found his hands clenching tightly into fists as bile rose in his stomach thinking about it. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Fran. Not now, not after they'd already gone through so much together.

The next day did not pass without incident. Casey and Theo continued to treat Dominic with a distinct coldness and distance. Dominic meanwhile tried everything he could to gain acceptance in this somewhat unusual group. It was slightly painful for RJ to watch. He'd managed to anger Casey further by playing an impromptu game of softball in the kitchen with pizza dough and a wooden paddle, cost the restaurant an entire dining room full of complete comps when he accidentally filled the pepper shakers with hot chilli pepper, and he'd even managed to screw up weapons practice for Theo and Lily, almost decapitating him in the process as weapons flew across the room out of control.

RJ had warned him about this. Dominic's enthusiasm to help normally outweighed his forethought. Sometimes things just went bad. Today he'd had a terrible string of luck. RJ woke up in the still of night, still unable to sleep. He'd not been sleeping terribly well anyway since he'd made his rather foolish promise to Lily. Carefully disentangling himself from Lily as she slept, he made his way into the main room to find Dominic sitting alone with a bottle of Saki and a couple of cups on the table. He made his way over and picked up the bottle, inspecting it thoughtfully.

"It's a good make." He commented. "It's been years since I had this."

"Help yourself." Dominic told him, gesturing to the cups. RJ looked at him a little concerned. He could see the tell-tale red streaks running down his face that informed him Dominic had been crying. Not wanting to leave him alone like this, he sat down and poured 

himself a cup. He leant forward, picking up some pictures from the table. They showed several images of Dominic, RJ and Master Mao from back in the days when they were together at the temple.

"I still can't believe I used to look like that." RJ joked to lighten the mood, taking a sip as he presented one of the pictures to Dominic. It showed a much younger RJ sporting a rather embarrassing bowl cut style haircut practicing some hand techniques. Dominic raised a little half-smile as he drank more Saki.

"We did go through some pretty embarrassing phases." He conceded. "Remember my facial hair?"

"Facial fuzz more like." RJ replied in a chuckle. "You still didn't have a good growth. It looked awful."

Dominic laughed with his friend for a little while before his expression slipped a little. He looked morosely at a picture of himself with Master Mao. "I can't believe how much I've failed him."

RJ finished his cup and poured himself another, before taking Dominic's hand. "He never once thought of you as a failure." He told his friend. "He was proud of you. You were one of his finest students."

"I trained for most of my life to be a protector." Dominic continued. "He could see that I couldn't handle it, that's why he sent me away."

"Of course you could have handled it." RJ reassured him. "Master Mao knew that. He was going make you a protector. If you'd stayed you'd be a master like me right now."

"I know you said he sent me away to find myself." Dominic sniffed, wiping away another tear. "But it feels like he sent me away to stop me screwing up."

"He just knew you weren't ready." RJ explained. "You said you felt a pull to come back here. Maybe that was Mao telling you it was time to come home and accept your responsibility."

"I wish I could believe that." He replied sadly. "I've blown it at every turn. I cost you an entire lunchtime's takings..."

"Yeah, that one wasn't so good." RJ agreed.

"I messed up when I was trying to help the others with weapons practice." He continued. "I know that stuff, I can't believe I messed it up."

"Well usually you weren't trying to eat an extra large helping of wings during practice back at Pai Zhuq." RJ mused, chuckling at the memory of having to dodge a low-flying tonfa. "Look, I told you to go slow. I know how your attempts to help normally go."

Dominic gave him a withering look as he finished his cup and gestured for another. RJ handed him his cup.

"Look, I know you mean well, but you're kind of like your Rhino spirit at times." He explained. "When you see what you want, you put your head down and charge at it headlong. You're one of the most focused people I know, it's admirable..."

"But?" Dominic interrupted him. He could guess that there was a 'but' coming in the conversation. RJ sighed and continued.

"Kind of like a Rhino you don't think things through. You can have a kind of tunnel-vision." He stated. "Sometimes you plough into things so completely that things kind of get trampled in the process."

Dominic took a long sip as he thought about it. RJ kind of had a point. He did tend to plunge into things with both feet. "I suppose the others still hate me." He mused.

"They don't hate you." RJ told him. "They just don't know you that well. Lily seems to be coming around to you, she spoke up for you earlier."

"Well Camille seemed to be OK with me earlier." Dominic commented.

"Well, given how far she's come, I suppose she would be a bit more broad-minded to the idea of new arrivals." RJ commented.

"Fran's been really good to me." Dominic told him. "She's really been pretty good with me. She's really nice."

"She is a unique one," RJ agreed, "how about the guys?"

"They've been a bit more reluctant." Dominic continued. "Casey seems pretty stand-offish."

"He was kind of that way to me when I became a Ranger at first." RJ stated. "He takes his position as leader pretty seriously. He's really defensive of the others. Normally I'd think it's quite noble, but it can be a little overbearing."

"That doesn't explain why Theo's so dark with me." Dominic muttered.

"You said Fran's been treating you well." RJ told him. "What did you mean by that?"

"She's been talking to me." Dominic replied, finding himself becoming a little confused. "We have a good laugh together."

"How close would you say you are?" He asked.

"We're friends." He replied. "I gave her a book, we have a good time around each other. We..."

"Enjoy a laugh together, you said." RJ concluded. "By any chance did Theo see this?"

"No, but Casey did." Dominic replied.

"Well there's your problem." RJ chuckled. "Theo and Fran are dating. Didn't you know that?"

"It never came up." Dominic responded. "He's a lucky guy, Fran's great."

"Just, try not to try so hard, and give the guys another chance." He told him.

"Anyway, RJ you never said why you're up." Dominic interjected, pouring each of them more Saki. "You're never up late. Normally you sleep like a log."

"Well I have had a lot on my mind recently." He admitted. "I had the flu recently. You know how I get when I'm sick."

"The mother of all big babies," he commented, "I remember all too well."

"Anyway, I was ill and Lily took care of me." He continued. "I kind of said some stuff I shouldn't have."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Dominic stated. "She seems like the forgiving type."

"It wasn't like that." RJ told him. "I didn't say anything bad. She and I have been getting on great."

"Well what's worrying you then?" He asked. RJ began stroking the back of his neck nervously.

"I kind of promised her something." He muttered as he shifted uneasily in his seat. "I was feeling like crap and I said something I shouldn't have, but I think she's taken me seriously."

"What did you say?" Dominic asked him. RJ sank the rest of his cup and gestured for another.

"I said if I survived I'd marry her." He replied. Dominic sat looking at him for a moment in shock. RJ waited for some kind of smart-ass reply, but it never came. Instead Dominic just fell off his chair and started rolling around on the floor laughing loudly.

"Well you're a bloody great help!" He snapped in response.

"I'm sorry RJ." Dominic giggled as he wiped the tears of laughter from his face. "Only you could propose by accident."

"I'm serious Dominic, what am I meant to do about this?" He asked him. "If I tell her I didn't mean it, she'll think I'm a jerk."

"Well how do you feel about her?" He asked him.

"I love her." RJ replied, drawing his hand through his hair nervously. "Of course I love her."

"Could you see yourself spending the rest of your life with her?" He questioned his friend.

RJ stopped to think about this. He hadn't given it much thought. He and Lily had talked about where they saw things going, but not in any real way. Dai Shi had been occupying everyone's thoughts for obvious reasons. Lily was everything to him. "I couldn't imagine myself being with anyone else."

"Do you two..."

"I know we're friends Dom," RJ interrupted him, "but I am not talking about that with you."

"You've been sharing a bedroom; I'd be naive to believe that wasn't happening." He replied. "I was just going to ask if you...take precautions."

"We do." RJ told him. "Lily doesn't want kids just yet. Besides, with Dai Shi still around, we'd not really want to risk it anyway."

"Well for the same reason you probably shouldn't get married." Dominic suggested. "It's something you want to be special between the two of you. You don't want some quickie ceremony with a working vacation fighting the latest of his monsters."

"So you're saying I should explain to her?" RJ asked him.

"Why hurt her needlessly if you don't have to?" Dominic asked in response. "An engagement is just a promise that you'll get married at some point. You do want to marry her don't you?"

RJ smiled as he thought once more about the woman he loved. "I really do." He commented. "I guess I was just freaked about the idea of marrying her now. I really want to be with her."

"Then I think you have your answer." Dominic stated.

"When did you become the smart one?" RJ asked him. Clinking cups as they sat drinking with each other, they both felt a little better.

"Master Mao?" Dominic asked, lifting up his cup.

"Master Mao." RJ replied, clicking his cup with Dom's.

They sat silently for a moment, each considering the challenges that lay before them.

"By accident?" Dominic chuckled.

"Shut up!" RJ groaned.


	3. Dom Decides to Stay

The following morning, RJ woke up on the couch, finding himself sitting opposite Dominic. They'd stayed up for quite a while talking about the early days back at Pai Zhuq. As much as it had upset him to hear about Master Mao's death, he had seemed to take it a lot better now that he'd had a chance to talk about it. RJ knew how much Master Mao had meant to him. He had thought that it probably hurt him that Mao had appeared to the others, but hadn't yet spoken with him. He'd even appeared to Fran, a woman he'd never even met during his life, but not to the man who in many ways considered himself his son.

RJ put his Saki cup down on the coffee table and made his way back to his bedroom, finding Lily still sleeping soundly. He stood and watched her for a moment, just thinking about everything they'd been through together. He loved her so much, nothing else mattered. He couldn't imagine why the thought of pledging his life to her had been so scary. It was then that he made the decision that today was the day he'd ask her to spend her life with him. Concluding his thoughts, he made his way through to the en-suite to begin getting ready for the day ahead.

Dominic stirred awake as Fran and Theo made their way into the training area.

"Dominic?" Fran greeted him as he got up off the couch. "What are you doing here?"

"RJ and I were talking last night." He explained, getting up and wiping sand from his eyes. "I guess I dozed off."

Fran took a look at the pictures scattered over the coffee table and the bottle of Saki. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him, she got the impression that Master Mao had meant a lot to him, and could only imagine how much he was hurting that he died while he was away.

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked him. Dominic surveyed her thoughtfully, but could see Theo pacing impatiently behind her. He remembered her telling him that Theo was training her. He also remembered RJ telling him that she and Theo were dating. Not wanting to give Theo any more reasons to hate him, he got off the couch and began making his way back to his room.

"I'll just be getting ready." He told them. "I'll see you in the restaurant later."

Theo came over behind Fran as she watched Dominic go. She knew there was more to what was troubling him than he was letting on, but she didn't want to press the matter. Theo wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck softly.

"Do you want to start training now?" He asked her. Fran reached back, placing a hand behind his neck. She wanted to know what was going on with Dominic, but she knew she wasn't going to find any new answers right now.

"I'll be right there." She told him, filing the photographs back into their envelope. "So, let's begin."

Dominic got dressed slowly as he contemplated his options. He wanted to stay and help the Rangers more than anything, but if they didn't trust him, he knew he'd end up doing more harm than good. Lily seemed to be giving him a break, but he knew if he couldn't sway Casey and Theo then he'd never be part of the team. He didn't know why Casey still had a problem with him, though he understood Theo's reservations. Fran had been great with him so far, and he really liked her. If she wasn't dating anyone, he'd probably have made a move, but he wasn't the kind of guy to muscle in on another guy's girlfriend. He wished Theo knew that, but then he had only known him a little over a day and even Dom had to admit that he hadn't really done much to endear himself to him.

"I guess I've burned my bridges." He said to himself, pulling on his plaid shirt. "I really have failed you Master Mao. I guess all that's left is to leave the decks clear for the Rangers to take down Dai Shi."

Packing his few belongings into his bag, he prepared to leave. RJ spotted him as he was about to go.

"Come on man," he implored his friend, "just give in another day or two."

"Sorry, but 'm just not going to fit in here," he replied sadly, "I guess it's back to the path."

"Look, I'm going to buy a ring today." RJ told him, trying to find excuses to keep him around. "At least stick around for some support, I'm going to ask Lily today."

"You'll be fine." Dominic told him, patting his long time friend on the shoulder. "You always were better with responsibility than me."

"Just, don't leave it so long before your next visit, OK?" He implored him, hugging his friend warmly. "I'll miss you."

"Something tells me Lily will help with that." He chuckled. "Have a good one man."

"You too." RJ replied as Dominic turned and left the kitchen. He felt bad about not being able to help him any further, but the integrity of the team was paramount. If even one person on the team didn't trust Dominic completely, then they couldn't risk him becoming a Ranger. He'd even gotten Andrew Hartford to make a morpher for him, but that didn't matter if the others couldn't accept him. Dominic would only weaken the team if he joined while they felt that way.

"Where's Dom going?" Casey asked as he arrived in the room. RJ closed his eyes and focussed on remaining calm. He felt his temper rising as he thought about how Casey had essentially done everything he could to make Dominic feel unwelcome, but he had to respect his position as leader of the team. He rounded on his young student.

"Dominic is leaving." He told him as calmly as he could. Lily and Theo had just arrived by this point.

"Dominic's gone?" Lily gasped. "Why?"

"He didn't feel like he fit in." He told them. "So he made his decision and just left."

"Dominic left?" Fran asked as she and Camille arrived in the room behind him.

"It's for the best." Casey mused. "We gave it a try and it didn't work out."

Fran beat RJ to the punch as he said this. "Did you?" She asked in a slightly accusatory tone. "Did you really try?"

Casey was forced to look into his heart as she said this. He really hadn't given Dominic much of a chance. He'd been so wrapped up in his opinion of Dominic as a joker and his position as leader of the team that he really hadn't given him a chance to prove himself. His suggestions during training did sound like they made sense, even if the fact he was eating chicken wings at the time resulted in the rather regrettable flying weapons incident.

"So he jokes around," Fran continued as she continued, "I kind of liked it."

"Me too." Lily commented sadly. She realised that like the others she really hadn't stuck up for Dominic when it mattered, but she now realised how much her indifference had affected him.

"Did you ever give him a chance to prove what he's really made of?" Fran asked the rhetorical question as the others continued to look at their feet. They couldn't look her in the face, they knew they were in the wrong. "Even once?"

"Fran, he could put us all in danger." Casey protested weakly. "We need to stay serious..."

"There's a difference between being serious and being a hard ass!" She snapped in response. "You can afford a little joke once in a while, it stops everyone going insane."

"We need to be able to trust each other." Theo told her, interjecting himself in the conversation. "I don't know if I can trust him."

"Why not?" She asked. "What has he ever done to you?"

Theo tried hard to think of an answer that wouldn't incriminate him. He didn't want to get on Fran's bad side. "He..."

"He's been nothing but nice to us all." She replied. "And you guys have made him feel so bad about himself that he left. I hope you're proud of yourselves, because I couldn't be more ashamed of any of you."

Theo came to her side and tried to put an arm around her, only to have it thrown off aggressively.

"What's that about?" He asked her. Fran rounded on him, placing her hands on her hips defensively.

"I know you're jealous." She snapped. "I love you Theo, I know you better than you think. I know you felt threatened by the way Dom and I were getting on..."

"You were holding hands!" He yelled loudly. Fran's face screwed up into a hateful expression. She pulled the book Dominic had given her from her bag and slammed it onto the work surface in front of him.

"He was giving me this." She shouted in response. "He was being nice by giving me a book he thought I'd enjoy."

"Fran I..."

"Save it Theo!" She barked as the ringing phone interrupted the conversation. "You either trust me or you don't. Even if Dom was making a move, it doesn't feel good knowing you think so little of me that you think I'd be unable to resist him."

"Fran, I trust you..."

"Well it doesn't feel like it!" She snapped, picking up the phone. "Jungle Karma, how may I help you?" She heard the irate voice on the other end chasing up an order that had been made a while ago. "I'm sorry, we'll get those pizzas right over."

"Fran, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Theo told her as she hung up. "I trust you..."

"So why would my friendship with Dominic bother you?" She asked. Theo couldn't answer. He was terrified at the thought of losing her. "I fell in love with you because of the sweet, thoughtful, caring guy I saw in you."

"I'm sorry Fran, I..."

"Trust me, the overbearing, possessive caveman bit isn't an attractive look." She interrupted him. "I'm going to take that order. I'll see you guys later."

Realising that this was the best opportunity for him to gain some measure of forgiveness, Lily shoved Casey as Fran left the room.

"Go!" She implored him. Casey ran out of the kitchen to catch up with her.

"You know, I'm meant to be the heart of the team," Lily mused as she pulled into RJ, "but I'm quickly coming to think Fran's the soul."

"I think that's a fair assessment." RJ told her as he kissed her forehead and pulled away. "Anyway, I have some shopping to do. I'll be back later."

At that point, the morphers bleeped, announcing the return of Grizzaka's latest monster.

"Oh great, that Crocovile guy's back." Lily moaned. "I suppose now's when we run off again."

RJ sighed loudly. All he wanted was to go to a jeweller and have a look at some rings within his price range, but he knew this was more important. "Let's go." He replied.

Casey and Fran arrived at the harbour a short time later. The workers there had ordered their pizzas a while back and they were impatient for their lunch. Getting out of the jeep with the pizzas, Fran noticed a distinctive figure on a bench near the ferry port.

"That's Dominic." She commented, leaving the pizzas on the bonnet of the jeep. Casey just groaned as he realised this would be one delivery he'd be making alone.

Dominic stared out over the harbour as he noticed a gentle nudge on the shoulder. He turned finding Fran sitting behind him.

"You never even said goodbye." She commented.

"I didn't think anyone would notice." He remarked. He liked Fran, he just didn't want to cause problems.

"Of course we noticed." She replied. She noted his somewhat unconvinced look. "OK, well I noticed."

Dominic snorted as she said this. He doubted the Rangers would miss him. Fran came round the bench to sit next to him.

"When I first came to the parlour, I was kind of lost." She admitted. "But then they opened their hearts and now it's my purpose. Well, for the time being."

"I wonder if I'll ever find my purpose." He sighed, a tear slowly trickling down his face. "Master Mao had so much faith in me, I always wonder if it was misplaced."

Fran felt really bad for him. She could tell he was hurting, but she couldn't help him with that. She placed a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Just, don't quit looking, OK?" She implored him. "Goodbye Dom!"

As she was walking away, he became aware of a sign being raised overhead. Fran screeched in fear as one of the supporting chains snapped, letting it swing free above her head. Fran was frozen to the spot in terror as it swung ominously above her. Dominic found himself sprinting towards her.

"FRAN!" He screamed as he ran in her direction. Casey was only just arriving back as he ran towards her. He saw a glowing blade of energy forming around Dominic's fist. Dom took her in his arms and spun on the spot, carving a perfect circular hole in the falling sign.

"Are you alright?" Dominic asked as Fran was finally able to stop shaking. Fran finally regained her breath as she realised she was safe.

"I am, thanks to you." She replied.

"Dominic, I was so wrong about you." Casey admitted as he arrived by their side. "I thought you were a goof off."

"I am a goof off." He told him in a chuckle. Casey found it hard to stop himself from laughing.

"Well, you are a goof off." He replied. "You're also so much more. You have the Rhino Spirit."

"I do." He replied. Casey held up a hand to stop him.

"You also have the Ranger spirit." He told him. "I think you should join the team."

Dominic released Fran from his grip as he approached the Red Ranger. "Are you serious?"

"Sorry I was a jerk." He replied. "I know I can be kind of stand-offish."

Suddenly, Casey's morpher bleeped. Putting it on his face, he saw the situation with Crocovile unfolding. "I'm on it." He responded. He turned to Dominic. "Do you fancy a chance to prove yourself to the others?"

He looked to Fran who nodded in response. "I'm on my way." He replied.

The other Rangers were finding themselves being forced onto the ropes as Crocovile hammered them relentlessly. Casey arrived on the Strikerider a short time later.

"Dominic, I thought you left." Lily commented as he arrived on the scene.

"I was going to leave, Casey convinced me to stay." He replied.

Crocovile seemed totally unimpressed and called forth an army of Rinshi Warriors.

"You guys deal with the lizard." Dominic stated. "I'll get rid of these guys."

A few hours later, the guys arrived back in the restaurant, laughing and joking about the days experience. Even Dominic had reason to feel happy.

"Look, I had this made for you." RJ stated, giving Dominic a bracelet. "I think you'd make a great Ranger.

"Go on Dom." Casey implored him. "Give it a try."

Dominic held his breath as he initiated the morphing sequence. Suddenly he felt a painful jolt of energy coursing through his body. He was kicked across the room by the power surge as the bracelet flew from his wrist.

"What the hell was that?" Dominic asked as he pulled himself off the floor.

"Your rhino spirit must have been too strong for the morphing technology." RJ mused as he helped his friend to his feet. "I guess we're missing something. Maybe the rhino spirit is too strong..."

"The rhino spirit?" Camille asked, dropping her tray. "That draws its power from the rhino nexus."

"Your point is?" Casey asked her. Camille looked into her chest thoughtfully.

"The rhino spirit is one of the most powerful spirits there is." She told them. "Dai Shi is going to the rhino nexus to get the power he needs to defeat Grizzaka."

"So he could take my power from me?" Dominic asked, thinking about that outcome.

"He can't unless you're destroyed." She replied. "He needs the power, but that power can't be split. He needs to destroy you to take that power for himself."

Who do you think we have a better chance against?" Dominic asked. Camille sniffed backa tear.

"If Grizzaka had that power, you'd never defeat him." She replied. "Dai Shi knows his time is short, that's why he made amends with me. If he doesn't get through that nexus, he'll never be able to take on Grizzaka."

"So we should help him?" Dominic asked.

"No, but the nexus holds the secret to your power." Camille told him. "If you get there before him, you'll have the power of the rhino for good."

"Well I guess I'm going on a journey after all." He answered. "I guess I'll see you guys later. Oh, by the way Casey, I got you something. It took a little longer than I thought, but here you go."

Casey took the gift-wrapped box from him curiously and opened it, sniggering as he saw the contents. He held the multi-coloured ball aloft.

"The gum!" He exclaimed loudly, holding it up for the others to see. "Oh Dom!"

They all laughed realising his joke. It was at that point that Dom twisted off the top of the gum ball, revealing a ring box. RJ opened it, revealing a diamond solitaire. Taking the ring, he got onto one knee and took the ring, presenting it to Lily as he took her left hand in his.

"Lily, you are the most amazing person I've ever met." He told her a he presented the ring to her. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

Lily looked around nervously, hoping for someone to give her an answer. Theo and Casey stared at her open-mouthed in shock as he knelt before her. Fran was so stunned she didn't even look like she was conscious. Meanwhile, Dom was laughing at a joke only he got. Lily's joke of making RJ sweat had backfired in a way she could never have anticipated.


	4. Dagger of Destiny

Lily woke up in RJ's arms the next day, smiling broadly. She had been completely caught unawares when RJ proposed the previous day. She knew he probably hadn't meant it when he promised to marry her, and she'd been having fun tormenting him over it. She hadn't for one moment considered that he'd actually go through with it and ask her to marry him.

She lay on the bed and started twirling the ring around her finger thoughtfully. He'd caught her so flat-footed with his proposal that she didn't really have much choice but to accept. She couldn't see any way to get out of that situation that wouldn't hurt his feelings. He'd managed to back her into a corner with that one. Sure, it wasn't ideal, it wasn't really how she'd pictured her engagement, but lying there in his arms, she found it impossible to be unhappy. She loved him more than anyone she'd ever known in her life. It was kind of sudden, and they'd only been dating a few months, but it just felt right. She pulled into him more tightly and smiled warmly. She was certain she'd made the right decision.

Later in the day, she was helping Casey with the breakfast as RJ and Fran continued their lessons in the use of her animal spirit. Theo was pretending he was reading, but everyone could see him casting occasional glances over to where Fran was concentrating on maintaining the form of her fox spirit. Everyone was really impressed by the progress she had made. She could now maintain its form for a lot longer than she had been, and it was now getting a lot bigger.

"Well, your spirit's getting really strong now." RJ told her thoughtfully as he got up off the floor. "It won't be much longer before it's strong enough to channel into attacks."

"Do you really think so?" Fran asked him. Theo came to her side helping her back to her feet from her seated position.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise." RJ told her.

"You're also getting better at kung fu." Theo told her, hugging her tightly. "You'll be training with the rest of us before you know it."

Fran couldn't help smiling at this thought. She knew the others had been training far longer than her, but she trusted them not to take advantage of her, and she knew they wouldn't invite her to train with them if she'd hold them back. Their preparations for their battles with Dai Shi were far too important to interrupt by taking time to train her if she wasn't able to keep up. Fran made her way into the bathroom to take a shower before her shift started. It was then that they noticed Dominic heading into the room.

Dominic was in a complete daze as he came into the kitchen. He poured himself a bowl of cereal, but was so far lost in his own little world that he forgot to pour milk into the bowl. He took a mouthful, before stopping and staring at the bowl in confusion.

"Usually it tastes better with milk." RJ commented. "What's up Dom?"

"Master Mao came to me last night." He sighed. RJ knew that this would happen sooner or later. Master Mao was so close to Dominic that he was bound to contact him soon, so he was a little confused that there seemed to be a hint of disappointment in Dominic's voice.

"What did he say?" RJ asked him. Dominic put the bowl down before turning to face him.

"He didn't appear to me, he just sent a memory of the day I left Pai Zhuq." He replied. RJ could understand his disappointment now. Master Mao had now appeared to the others on more than one occasion. He'd appeared to RJ to warn him that the Rangers were coming. He'd even appeared to Fran while she was being held captive by Dai Shi to comfort her. It must have hurt that he wouldn't appear to Dominic.

"So what did he tell you about?" Theo asked him. Even if he only sent a memory, he was sure it had to be important.

"He reminded me that he gave me the Control Dagger before he left." He told them. RJ's reaction told them that he knew what this meant.

"I guess you get to be a Ranger after all." RJ commented. "I think Master Mao just gave us the solution to your little problem."

"But how is that possible?" Lily asked as she came across to them. "Dominic's rhino spirit is too strong for Dr. Hartford's morpher. We saw that when he tried to morph the other day."

"If Dominic goes to the rhino nexus, he'll be able to commune directly with the rhino spirit." RJ explained. "In the Jungle of Spirits, there's a massive tree, and at the top, the powers of the rhino."

"I possess the spirit of the rhino." Dominic mused as he began pacing the room. "Unlocking the rhino powers must be my destiny."

"My guess is that's what Master Mao had in mind all along." RJ concluded.

"So where does the dagger fit in?" Lily asked them.

"Well, the dagger's kind of like a key." RJ explained. "Without it, no one gets through. With it, you can just walk right in."

"I thought you said that Dai Shi was after the power of the rhino nexus." Fran stated as Camille came into the centre of the room. "Is it possible he already has the dagger?"

"I don't think so." Camille responded. "I'd never even heard of the dagger before now. I don't think he knows about it."

"Well I'd hate to be in his shoes when Grizzaka gets a hold of him." RJ commented. "If what you told us about the power struggle is true, then Grizzaka's probably going to take this as the last straw."

"But since Dai Shi's still possessing Jarrod..."

"Then he won't just kill Dai Shi." RJ interrupted his fiancée, hugging her warmly. "He'll also kill Jarrod."

Back in the fortress, RJ's predictions weren't far off the mark. Jellica had brought Dai Shi to Grizzaka and explained his betrayal to her new master. Sensing that his end was near, Dai Shi had tried to defend himself, but his power was still not enough to overcome the Overlord. Jellica dragged his semi-lifeless form to the dungeon at Grizzaka's request.

"You must have been a fool to believe you could overthrow Grizzaka." She sneered, throwing open the cell door. It was then that he made his move. Surging forward, powered up into his armoured mode and smashed her to the floor.

"I bet you never thought you'd see a lion playing possum." He commented as he threw her inside, locking the door behind her. He had exaggerated the extent of his injuries to lull her into a false sense of security, but he was still pointedly aware that he would not survive a long, drawn-out battle. "When you finally get out of this, tell Grizzaka thank you for letting me know how to open the nexus."

"You'll not get far." She groaned as she shifted painfully on the floor.

"When I come back, you will all fall beneath my power you treacherous snakes." He hissed aggressively. "Give a message to that overgrown canary Carnisoar. He shall be the first to fall."

With that, he turned sharply on his heel and left. It would be a while before Jellica would recover enough to release herself and warn Grizzaka that he had escaped. By that time, he intended to have the control dagger within his grasp.

Dominic was making his way back to the restaurant after retrieving the dagger. Theo couldn't believe that of all placed, he'd hide it down the back of a chair in a takeaway, but it had worked. The dagger had been safe there for six years now. Besides, he had to kind of give Dom a break after he had insisted on taking the dagger, only to lose it. Of course now Theo was needed to help the others battle the latest of Grizzaka's monsters across town. Making his way through the streets, his attention was suddenly grabbed as he saw Dai Shi's lion spirit rushing him at incredible speed. He barely managed to get his rhino spirit to block it in time, being dashed onto the ground. Dai Shi appeared before him, striding over to him purposefully.

"You have something I need." He remarked, gesturing to the dagger. "Give it to me and I'll let you live."

"Sure, here you go." He replied, picking up the dagger and presenting it to him. As Dai Shi reached out for it, Dominic swung wildly. Dai Shi's armour saved him from serious harm as the dagger's power threw him across the street. "Come on, did you seriously think I'd give up that easily?"

"I just wanted to give you the opportunity to leave with your life." He replied, preparing a guard. "Your friends can't help you now."

"I managed just fine without them for six years!" Dominic roared, surging to the attack. Dai Shi quickly found himself under pressure as he drove home a barrage of strong attacks. Dai Shi pulled away as Dominic drew the dagger into a guarding position.

"You'll find I'm not exactly a pushover." Dominic said confidently, drawing the dagger back and forth in a defensive pattern.

"I notice you haven't morphed yet." Dai Shi sneered, looking him up and down dismissively. "Is that because you don't want to? Or because you can't?"

"I don't need any more power to bring you down. You should remember how powerful I am from our days at Pai Zhuq together Jarrod." He responded, rushing into the attack again. This time, however, Dai Shi was prepared for him. He grabbed Dominic's arm, twisting it painfully and throwing him dismissively to the ground. He circled the fallen warrior, laughing as he observed him.

"You really are pathetic." He taunted him as Dominic returned to his feet. "You may have the rhino spirit, but you haven't even tapped the vastness of its power. You are too weak to control it. Its small wonder Master Mao sent you away. He was probably ashamed of the sight of you!" He could see a look of hurt on Dominic's face. He had full access to Jarrod's memories and so he knew how much Master Mao had meant to Dominic. Jarrod had been training at Pai Zhuq for ten years before Master Mao expelled him, and so their paths had crossed before he left. He got an evil grin on his face as he realised he'd hit a nerve.

"That's it. I guess he's probably already come back to tell you that you're not needed to help." Dominic looked at his feet as Dai Shi said this. It was then that he realised the truth. "Oh I see he's so embarrassed to know you he can't bring himself to come back to you."

"Shut up!" Dominic screamed at him, feeling his chest tighten. He clasped his hands over his ears hoping that he could block out Dai Shi's taunting words.

"He appeared to the Rangers more than once." He told him. "Why, he even appeared to me, the one who killed him, and yet he couldn't bring himself to look at you. I guess you've disappointed him more than I thought. Maybe you really should have just accepted that pathetic excuse for a life you've been living, and then Master Mao's spirit wouldn't have to watch you continue to fail in everything you do."

Something snapped inside Dominic at the mention of Master Mao's name, sending him into a rage. Dai Shi had stumbled across the way he could crawl inside Dominic's head and manipulate him.

"I didn't want to bust this out just yet!" He snarled, activating his bracelet. "But you've just earned yourself a five star ass kicking, rhino style!"

He held his breath as he called forth his rhino morpher. He knew it hadn't worked before, and he knew RJ's theory that he'd need to enter the Rhino Nexus to harness the powers, but he had a theory that the dagger would be close enough to allow him to morph.

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" He called out, activating his morpher. He could barely contain the power coursing through him, but looking down at the white suit he found himself in, he smiled with a sense of accomplishment. "Now it's time to show you what the Rhino Ranger can do."

Dai Shi prepared a guard and began laughing at the display. "Come now, don't hold back." He taunted him. He had his own theory about how this would pan out. "Give me everything you have. Don't hold back any of that power of yours."

Lily, Theo, Casey and RJ arrived back in the apartment, finding Fran and Camille there, watching the monitors.

"Checking out our latest victory?" Casey asked them, placing an arm around Camille and kissing her cheek. "We completely toasted that bird."

"Where's Dominic?" Theo asked them. "I told him to bring the dagger straight here."

"He hasn't come back yet." Fran told him.

"Knowing Dom he probably stopped off for a sandwich." Casey replied sarcastically.

"Dominic knows when to get serious." RJ reminded him. "If he hasn't come back yet, then something's wrong. He'd never risk the dagger falling into the wrong hands."

"I think we've just found our answer." Fran told them, finding a recording from the main plaza showing Dai Shi locked in a deadly struggle with a stranger in a white suit.

"Dominic?" Lily asked a little confused. "I thought he couldn't morph."

"I think the dagger's given him some access to the rhino powers." RJ told her.

"Well he seems to be holding his own against Dai Shi." Theo stated as Dai Shi was sent flying by another violent assault. "We should probably get out there to help."

"Guys, we need to get out there NOW!" RJ announced, checking up some schematics. "The dagger's given him some access to the powers, but it's unstable."

"What do you mean?" Lily yelled, by now becoming a little concerned. RJ pointed out a graph on one of the monitors.

"His power levels are spiking dangerously." He told them. "His powers are too unstable. I have no idea how long they'll last before burning out. All I know is it won't be long."

Dominic was hammering Dai Shi violently as the battle continued. Dai Shi pulled away a little to get some room to move. Suddenly, without warning, Dominic flinched in pain. He felt a huge surge of power coursing through his body, forcing him to one knee. Dai Shi started laughing as he saw this. His theory that the power granted to him by the dagger would not be permanent seemed to be correct. If anything they seemed to be hurting him.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to control the power for long." He snarled as he approached Dominic cautiously. "You're too weak to maintain the power for any length of time."

"It'll last long enough to take you out." Dominic spat aggressively as he surged forward. This time the power surge came more violently before, forcing him to the ground. Dominic writhed on the ground, screaming in agony as the energy threatened to tear him apart. He tried to haul himself back to his feet to attack, but the energies were too much for him and he collapsed one last time. Finally unable to maintain the power, he de-morphed, lying on the ground completely spent. Looking up, he could see the dagger a little way from his hand. He reached out for it, only to be stopped as Dai Shi stepped on his wrist, grinding it painfully into the concrete. He grunted in pain as he continued to strain against Dai Shi's weight, refusing to scream as he tried t retrieve the dagger.

Dai Shi bent down, collecting the dagger and placed it in his belt before grabbing Dominic's wrist, twisting it painfully. Dominic struggled against grasp, but he was no longer in any condition to stand against him, the dangerous energies of the unstable powers he'd accessed had drained him completely of his strength. Dai Shi forced him to look into his eyes as he powered down, laughing at his attempts to break free.

"Thank you for finding the dagger for me." He said sarcastically, holding him up, nose-to-nose with him. "You know, I don't think I'll bother destroying you. I think I'll let you live with your failure. I'll let you go with the knowledge that Master Mao was right about you all along. You're nothing. If you hadn't come back, I might never have been able to defeat Grizzaka. Now, the rhino powers will soon be within my grasp."

With that, Dai Shi almost tore Dominic's head off his shoulders with a hard kick to the face. As Dominic lost consciousness, all he could think of was how badly he'd failed everyone who depended on him. Dai Shi turned and left the scene, leaving Dominic lying face-down in the gutter. He had more important matters to tend to.

Dominic came to on the couch in the apartment, finding RJ checking him over.

"Dominic, how are you feeling?" He asked him. "You were in a pretty bad way when we found you."

"I'm fine RJ." He lied. Physically he would be OK; he was a tough kid at heart. What hurt the most was losing the dagger. Master Mao had trusted him to keep it safe. Now he'd all but handed it to Dai Shi. He could still hear every word Dai Shi had said to him. Every word was burned into his mind, taunting him over his failure to return the dagger to safety. RJ could see that he was taking the defeat hard.

"Dominic, none of us blames you." Theo stated, coming over to his side. "Dai Shi blindsided you. You didn't have control of the rhino powers. None of us could have held him off like that."

Dominic turned over into the couch, turning his face from the others. He couldn't bear to look at them. It didn't matter that they were telling him he wasn't to blame, he knew he was. If only he'd completed his training all those years ago. If he'd only gained complete control of his powers back then, the Rangers wouldn't be in this situation right now.

"We all know you tried." Fran reassured him. "I saw you on the monitors. You were doing great. You almost defeated him a couple of times."

Dominic never bothered answering. He just pulled a blanket over himself. The others knew that there was no point in trying to reason with him right now. RJ wanted to say something, but at that point their morpher's bleeped, informing them of another monster attack. RJ cursed Grizzaka for his timing, and instead nodded to Fran in a wordless understanding that he wanted her to take care of him as they left. Fran turned back to the couch where he was punishing himself far more than Dai Shi ever could.

"Look, Dominic, I know what it feels like to be on the outside of this group." She said soothingly as she came to his side. "I don't think the guys really appreciate how intimidating a group they can be to try and become a part of."

"Fran, you didn't go to Pai Zhuq, I did." He breathed in response. "I should have been up to this, but I wasn't. I only have myself to blame for losing the dagger. Casey was right to begin with. I really don't deserve to be one of them."

"Do you think giving up's going to help?" A voice came from behind Fran. Both she and Dom instantly recognised it as Master Mao's voice. He appeared before them, causing Dominic to sit up on the couch and pay attention. "I never thought of you as the kind of person to feel sorry for himself Dominic."

"Master Mao, you're here." Dominic gasped, taken aback by his sudden reappearance. Fran realised that this was a personal moment and took the opportunity to leave.

"Dominic, why have you abandoned hope?" He asked him. "You lose one fight and you give up? That's not like you."

"I know I've failed." He sighed, his shoulders slumping a little in defeat as Master Mao sat down beside him. "Dai Shi took that dagger from me like I was nothing. I may as well have gift wrapped the damn thing for him."

"That isn't you talking, it's Dai Shi." He explained. "I saw your fight with him. You almost had him. You let him get into your head and he took advantage of that."

"I let you down again." Dominic stated. "You were right to send me away; I've done more harm than good ever since I got back."

"Well, some of your attempts to help have been less than successful." He responded. "But you only fail if you fail to try. The Dominic I know wouldn't give up at the fist hurdle. You lost the dagger. May I suggest you go and get it back?"

"What's the point? He'll only defeat me again." He remarked. "You were right to be ashamed of me."

"I could never be ashamed of you Dominic." He replied. "I never had any children of my own. It's one of my few regrets, but the way you grew under my guidance, I couldn't have been prouder of you."

"Then why did you send me away?" He asked. "I could have been a protector. I could have been here when…"

"I loved you enough to let you find your own path to your destiny." He interrupted Dominic's protest. "Unlocking the rhino powers always was your destiny. I've known that since the first time you channelled your animal spirit." Dominic chuckled a little as he recalled the day fondly. Everyone else in his class had called forth their infant animal spirits, creating a veritable menagerie of young animals. To say it was a shock when Dominic called forth a rhino would be an understatement. Even in its infant form it was huge, sending several students into a panic. Master Mao leaned in closer. "The control dagger is one of the most important artefacts of the Pai Zhuq temple. Do you really think I would have given it to you to take with you if I didn't think you were up to the challenge?"

"No Master Mao." He replied as his fists clenched and his jaw tightened. He steeled himself for what he knew he had to do next. He got up to leave, turning to bow to his fallen master before grabbing his coat.

"Dominic." Master Mao called after him. Dominic turned back one last time to face him. "I wanted you to know. I'm proud of you…my son."

"Thank you." He replied as he turned to leave. He stormed through the restaurant, barging past Camille and Fran.

"Dominic, where are you going?" She asked him.

"Tell RJ I went to the Jungle of Spirits." He called back in response. "Dai Shi has something that belongs to me. I'm going to get it back."


	5. The Jungle of Spirits

A/N: Just to explain, I haven't yet seen "Race to the Nexus", but I was too impatient to wait, so I've pretty much just thrown the script out the window. Hope you enjoy this section of the story.

The Rangers had just finished defeating the latest of Grizzaka's monsters, but they were determined not to be fooled again and were spending some time searching the area. Since the last monster had been reborn after laying an egg at the scene of the last battle, they were determined to ensure that hadn't happened a second time.

"There's nothing over here." Lily concluded, sifting through some rubble.

"I've got nothing." Casey responded, finishing with his own area. They all assembled in the centre of the street, concluding that none of them had found anything of note.

"Well, I think we can safely say that's the last we'll be seeing of that bird." RJ concluded.

"It's a shame really." Theo chipped in. "Can you imagine the size of portion of nuggets we could make from that thing?"

"I think the health inspectors might have something to say about that." RJ suggested.

"Well guys, it sounds like they're playing our song." Casey stated as they heard sirens blaring. "It looks like it's time to go."

Just then their morphers bleeped. Activating his, Casey answered the communication, seeing Fran on the screen.

"Fran, what's going on?" He asked, half-groaning. They'd already defeated two monsters that day, so the prospect of a third battle within a single day wasn't terribly appealing.

"Guys, Dom stormed out of here a few minutes ago." She told them. "I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. He just barged me out the way and..."

"Thanks Fran." RJ sighed, interrupting her. "I'll give you three guesses where he's going."

"I doubt we're going to need the other two." Casey replied. "He's going to the nexus."

"That means he'd going after Dai Shi to get the dagger back." Theo concluded. "There's only one problem with that plan."

"He still doesn't have Ranger Powers." Lily interjected. "He's going to get himself killed."

"It looks like there's no rest for the wicked." RJ groaned, running off in the direction of the Jungle, closely followed by the others. "I just hope we aren't already too late."

Dai Shi was carving a path through the undergrowth of the Jungle, making short work of the foliage with the Control Dagger. The power of its blade was easily capable of carving through steel, so nothing the Jungle of Spirits threw in his path could offer more than minimal resistance. He already knew the journey to the rhino nexus was a long one, though he had already made the journey once without the dagger, so he was already making good time.

As he stopped to rest on a gnarled old tree stump, he folded away the Control Dagger and shoved it into his belt as he thought about the power he would soon possess. Within the nexus, he would at last harness the zukado power.

He had been humiliated by Grizzaka yet again as his attempt to use the zukado power failed him at the time he needed it the most. It was only Grizzaka's arrogance that had allowed him to escape with his life. He had intended to imprison Dai Shi, and he had underestimated his resilience. Neither was a mistake Dai Shi would make when the time came. Grizzaka and the overlords would be destroyed when he returned. Once he had the zukado power, he would have no use for them.

Getting up after his brief period of rest, he folded out the dagger again and continued on the path to his destiny. The sun would soon be setting, and travelling would be all but impossible. He had to make it to the nexus within the next few hours or he would lose the advantage of the head start he had over the Rangers and Grizzaka.

Dominic pushed through the undergrowth as the sun hung low in the sky. He had no idea where Dai Shi was, but knowing where he was going was the next best thing. He had already figured that he'd probably be aiming to get to the nexus before sunset, so he knew time was already short. Making his way onto a high ridge, he could see a massive tree in the distance, towering far above anything else in the Jungle.

"I guess that's it." He mused to himself. He could see that it was still a couple of miles off in the distance. To many it would have seemed hopeless, but somehow he just seemed to know that he would find a path that would take him the distance to the tree in a short time, almost as if he already knew the route to the nexus, even though he'd never been to the Jungle of Spirits before.

He dropped from the ridge through the branches of a nearby tree, using the foliage to slow his fall, landing on a path through the trees. He couldn't explain why, and it unnerved him a little but the area of jungle he landed in was comparatively flat, and free of restrictive foliage, almost like a man-made path hidden from observers by the over-head coverage of the trees, concealing it from view. What unnerved him most though, more than finding the path, was that he wasn't surprised to find it. It was as though he'd always known it was there.

Concluding that it was a mystery for another time, he sprinted down the path towards the nexus. His years of training had given him incredible speed and stamina. So long as the path remained this clear, allowing him a smooth run, he'd cover the distance in no time. He wasn't going to catch up to Dai Shi on this path, if it remained like this, he'd overtake him.

"Hope you get there soon Dai Shi." He thought to himself as he sprinted through the Jungle. "I'll be there waiting for you." As he continued his headlong race against Dai Shi to get to the nexus first, he didn't once look back. If he had, he'd have noticed that the path through the jungle was growing over and closing behind him, growing years' worth of foliage in a matter of seconds, becoming as though the path had never existed.

RJ and the others arrived at the edge of the Jungle a little before sun down, observing the Jungle with a sense of foreboding. There didn't seem to be a path that would lead them to the tree quickly.

"It'll take hours to get through that." Lily yelled, seeing the thick undergrowth blocking their way.

"Dai Shi and Dominic already have a couple of hours on us." Theo commented. "We'll never catch up to them in time."

"Dominic will find a way to intercept Dai Shi." RJ told them. "Unlocking the rhino power was always his destiny."

"But he needs the Control Dagger to enter the nexus." Theo reminded him. "Dai Shi defeated him when he had the dagger. What chance does he have without it?"

"Dominic's tough." Casey stated with authority. "He'll hold Dai Shi up long enough for us to get there. I know he will."

As they began to push their way through the undergrowth, RJ couldn't help but smile. Casey's endorsement of Dominic's ability wasn't much of a gesture on the surface; it had taken a long time for him to soften enough to Dominic to let him into the group, that any compliment he gave was a huge step. Dominic had finally achieved the acceptance he deserved. He was at last one of the team.

Dominic charged towards the nexus at an impressive pace. His heart pounded like a jackhammer and his blood burned like acid in his veins. Every muscle in his body was already aching, but that didn't matter. Today was the day he'd finally fulfil his destiny and prove that Master Mao's faith in him was not misplaced. He'd prove he wasn't just the screw up that was sent away, he was the master of the rhino spirit.

As he raced through the jungle, his thoughts raced back to his time with Master Mao back at the temple. At first, he recalled the first day he arrived. He was only 6 years old, and his parents abandoned him at the gates to an old manor house, which the temple maintained as a cover, calling it a "boarding school". He was a small child, short for his age and a little skinny. He clutched a teddy bear that wasn't much smaller than him with the passion only an infant could muster. He watched his parents drive away, leaving him to his new home without so much as meeting the faculty. He had to admit never being an ideal child, but he had never felt more alone than at that moment. It was then that a man, a bit older than his dad arrived, wearing unusual silk clothing. He had black hair, and kind, brown eyes that created trust with the first glance. He sat down on the bench outside the "school" and gestured for Dominic to do likewise.

"I take it you're Dominic." He commented. "I've been anxious to meet you."

Dominic viewed him a little suspiciously, pulling the teddy bear in a little tighter. The stranger smiled at the reaction, realising how frightened one so young must be in this situation. He pointed to the bear.

"May I?" He asked. Dominic had never given the bear to anyone without a fight before. Even his own mother had to virtually wrestle it from his grasp to wash it, but for some reason he found himself compelled to trust the strange man. He handed it over without question. The stranger held it before him, viewing it curiously. "What's his name?"

"Billy." Dominic replied, accepting the bear back. "You aren't going to take him away are you?"

"Why would I do that?" The stranger asked him. "He obviously means a lot to you, why do you think I'd take him?"

"Daddy said that you'd think I was a baby." He replied, holding the bear as though his life depended on it. "He said schools didn't teach babies and they'd take Billy away."

"Well I promise I won't." He told the young man before him. "My mother gave me a teddy too; I still have it to this day."

"But you're old!" Dominic shrieked. The stranger laughed in a way that made the young Dominic realise he had said something undiplomatic, but that he hadn't taken offence.

"Even the old have to hold onto their youth." He said in response. "Now Dominic, do you want to go to the school?"

"I thought this was the school." Dominic stated, gesturing to the house behind them.

"No, this is just where we pick students up." The stranger explained. "My name is Master Mao. I shall be your main teacher."

"That's a funny name." Dominic laughed, holding his hand out to Master Mao. The old Master took his hand and led him on the long path to the temple.

"I suppose it is." He responded.

He pushed onwards through the Jungle, continuing to recall his days with Master Mao. His thoughts came to a night on his second year when he found Master Mao meditating in the forest near the temple. Master Mao's sleeve had rolled up a little, exposing his forearm in the wind. Dominic came to him to seek comfort after a hard day's tuition, but found himself mesmerised by the pattern he saw etched on the older man's skin.

"What can I do for you Dominic?" He asked without opening his eyes, causing the young boy to jump. It always freaked him out that his Master was able to do that.

"What's that on your arm?" He asked. "It's like the design on some of the student's tunics."

"It's the mark of the Order of the Claw." Master Mao replied. "All Pai Zhuq masters have one. It's a badge of honour."

"Will I get one?" He asked. Master Mao opened his eyes and turned to look at the young man thoughtfully, smiling at him.

"I have no doubt of it." He responded warmly. "If you continue to study and you continue to progress as you have, then you will become a master."

"RJ's dad says he'll never be a master." Dominic stated, obviously voicing his own concerns through the conflict his best friend often had with his dad. "He says..."

"Master Finn is a fine master." Mao interrupted, placing his hand on the young boy's shoulder. "But he is still not entirely comfortable with the idea of raising a son. He thinks a son must be a clone of the father."

"I don't want to be a clone of my dad." Dominic grumbled, looking away. "He's mean and he sent me away and he spends all his time working. He doesn't have time to have fun with me."

"That, my cub, is his loss." Master Mao replied, trying not to criticise his father. He had gathered some idea of Dominic's former home life from what he had told him, but he didn't want to alienate him from his parents in case they asked to have him back. "Every child must make their own path. Of course, to do that, they must be allowed to explore."

"I want to be like you." Dominic told him.

"You don't want to be like me." Master Mao told him, inviting the young boy to sit with him. "I've lived my life alone; I've had no children..."

"I bet when I can summon my animal spirit it'll be just like yours." Dominic interrupted him. Master Mao reached over, ruffling his hair playfully.

"No, everyone's animal spirit manifests in a way that suits their personality." He explained. "Even parents and children have different animal spirits. You and I are different."

With that, they both sat quietly for a while, just observing the view of the sunset from the temple. Dominic always enjoyed spending time with Master Mao. He always made him feel important. He was everything he ever wanted from his own parents but unlike them, he always had time for him.

Dai Shi stopped yet again as he realised his path was nearing its end. He sat on the ground, driving the Control Dagger into the ground, and found his mind, unusually drifting into Jarrod's memories.

He was an average child, a little muscular compared to his fellow children because of an active childhood. He was being led through the courtyard of the temple to the main courtyard. He had graduated from the junior training sessions and was being brought to his first real session.

"Jarrod, I'm pairing you with Dominic." Master Mao told him, gesturing to the slightly older boy practicing kicking drills on the courtyard. "He's an impressive student. You can learn a lot from him."

Dominic finished off his drills before coming over to Jarrod, bowing to him. Jarrod returned the gesture.

"I guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other." Dominic commented, extending a hand. "I'm Dominic."

"Jarrod." He replied. "I suppose we're meant to be sparring."

He shook his head clear; making sure the dagger was still in his hand. He found his eyes closing and his mind again coming back to Jarrod's time at Pai Zhuq.

Jarrod and Dominic were in the midst of a far-from-friendly sparring session, battering seven shades from each other. Master Mao finally intervened.

"Why are you two fighting so violently?" He asked.

"Dominic said my parents don't care about me!" Jarrod roared in response. The two boys were never able to find common ground, and always ended up at each other's throats. Master Mao glared at Dominic with a judgemental glare that always made him confess his sins.

"Is this true Dominic?" He asked the rhetorical question. Dominic looked to his shoes totally ashamed of his actions.

"I did Master Mao." He replied. "I'm..."

"Do not apologise if you do not mean it." Master Mao continued. "Why did you say something so hurtful to him?"

"He hurt me."Dominic responded honestly. "He said my parents dumped me here."

"Did you ever consider that maybe he's hurting too?" He asked him. "Jarrod is here, away from his family as well."

Dominic made his way over to Jarrod, extending a hand. "I'm sorry Jarrod." He sighed sadly, awaiting his response.

"I shouldn't have said what I did." Jarrod replied, accepting the handshake. Master Mao smiled as he saw the two boys resolving their differences.

"You two are a lot more similar than you realise." He commented. "If you could talk for a while without throwing punches, I think you could be friends."

They looked at each other a little unconvinced. They never really got on. Getting them to stop knocking lumps out of each other was one thing, but becoming friends wasn't something either of them could see happening in this lifetime.

"Why am I thinking about this?" Dai Shi asked himself as he continued on his path. "Why are Jarrod's memories any concern of mine?"

Dominic arrived at the nexus first, stopping a little way from the tree that marked the home of the rhino powers. He knew that the energy field protecting it wouldn't allow anyone to pass without the Control Dagger. He would have to stop Dai Shi before he could pass through the field. As he awaited his foe he continued to remember his time at the temple. He recalled the day he called forth his animal spirit. Master Mao found the young teenager outside, staring into space with a forlorn look on his face.

"Why are you upset?" He asked. "The day someone calls forth their animal spirit for the first time is a happy time."

"Most people don't wreck the dojo." He grumbled. When the rhino spirit had been called forth, it was massive by comparison to the other student's spirits. It had taken up most of the room and trashed quite a bit of ancient pottery and artwork. The students panicking and running away put paid to the rest of it. "I can't believe I'm a rhino."

"The rhino is an incredibly powerful creature." Master Mao stated, sitting down next to the young man. "You should be proud your spirit has taken its form."

"But the rhino is stupid." He complained. "It's big and ugly and it uses its head as a battering ram."

"There once were six blind men who were asked to describe an elephant." He began. "One felt its tusk and said it looked like a ploughshare. Another felt its tail and said it looked like a rope."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Dominic asked him. Master Mao smiled and continued his story regardless.

"One held its leg and said it looked like a post. Another held its head and said it looked like a water jug." He leaned in closer. "One held its trunk and said it looked like a hose..."

"They each only felt a part of it." Dominic interrupted, realising his point.

"If you only look at a small part of a larger story, you never find the truth." He explained. "The rhino may use its head to attack, but it has many admirable qualities. It is one of the most singularly powerful animals on earth. It has incredible strength and speed. It also has a caring and compassionate and courageous heart. A rhino never gives up."

"Neither will I." Dominic replied, smiling a little as he heard this. "I guess I was upset because Master Finn yelled at me."

"He isn't the most patient of teachers." Master Mao admitted. "He does, however, have impressive results. You can learn a lot from him."

"I just wish he wasn't such a hard ass." Dominic replied. Master Mao looked down his nose at the young man.

"You know how I feel about you talking that way." He chastised him. "But Finn would do well to learn to lighten up a little."

"Why can you not teach me?" Dominic asked.

"I already have a number of other responsibilities." He sighed. "But I trust Finn implicitly. Treat him with the same respect you would me if I were teaching you."

"I will." Dominic told him. "I'll do it for you."

Master Moa smiled at the young man and placed his hand on his shoulder. He knew Dominic felt better about himself now he had talked through the regrettable incident in the dojo.

The other Rangers continued to push through the undergrowth, struggling against the thick foliage.

"We'll never get there in time." Theo complained. "Dai Shi could already be there by now."

"We'll know soon enough." RJ commented, blasting his way through a web of vines with his wolf beams. "I can only hope Dom's gotten to him before he gets to the nexus."

"What can Dom do?" Casey asked him.

"Never underestimate him." RJ told the Red Ranger sagely. "He always pulls something out the bag when the chips are down, and that dagger is the path to his destiny."

"So why is Dai Shi getting so close?" Lily asked him. "If it's Dom's destiny to unlock the rhino powers, then why is Dai Shi getting such close access?"

"I have a feeling their destinies may be intertwined." He replied.

Dai Shi pushed through the last of the undergrowth, finally finding his way to the nexus. He smiled as he realised how close he was to attaining the power he sought. He could almost taste it. It was then that Dominic tackled him from behind. The force of the blow carried both of them through the energy field surrounding the tree. Dai Shi pulled himself to his feet, rounding on Dominic.

"Are you so desperate to be destroyed?" He chuckled. "You know the others will not be able to help you."

"You always were a second string student." Dominic taunted him, pulling into a guarding stance. "What do you say Jarrod? Think you can take me without powering up?"

"The rhino powers can wait." Dai Shi taunted him, throwing the Control Dagger into the ground and preparing his own guard. "I don't need powers to destroy you."

"You know what happens to a lion when it gets in the way of a charging rhino?" Dominic asked him. "Same thing as everything else, it gets crushed. Let's do this!"


	6. Rise of the Rhino

Dominic and Dai Shi circled each other for a few moments, assessing each other's strength. Jarrod and Dominic had known each other for many years and were regular sparring partners, so they were well aware of each other's capabilities.

"You really think you have a chance against me?" Dai Shi sneered as he surged forward, launching into the attack. Dominic parried his blows with practised precision, before finally slamming his hands into Dai Shi's chest.

"You always were a loser Jarrod." He taunted Dai Shi, flashing a cocky smile at him. "You always looked for the easy route to power. That's why it doesn't surprise me Dai Shi took control of you."

"That weakling simply gives me a physical form." Dai SHI told him in response. "The power is mine."

"Which is why you're trying to steal mine," Dominic shot back as he scored a kick to Dai Shi's head, "you're pathetic."

"We'll see who's pathetic Dominic." He roared, seizing him roughly and throwing him into the tree. "We'll see who's pathetic once I claim the rhino powers for my own use."

Dai Shi sprinted over to the control dagger, picking it up and turning to face Dominic. He pointed over to a small rhino statue a little way from where they stood.

"The power of the rhino resides within that nexus." He explained. "You will not stop me from attaining my destiny."

"You know, I reckon people put way too much stock in destiny." Dominic responded, pressing the attack once more. "If everyone believes their destiny is true, then everyone's going to win."

"Your destiny ends here and now."Dai Shi responded, kicking Dominic away. He turned to the statue, finding it opening, revealing a hole which looked to be just large enough to fit the control dagger in. He smiled, realising that it was a lock. He turned back to Dominic as he watched him regain his feet.

"You may have the rhino spirit." He told him. "But I will have the power."

"No!" Dominic called out as he charged him, hoping to stop him before he unlocked the power. However, he could never have anticipated what happened next. The dagger was engulfed in a glowing energy field and stopped a little way from the lock, hovering ominously over it. The rising energies threw Dai Shi several feet from the nexus. Dominic smiled.

"I guess not just anyone can claim the rhino powers." He stated, approaching the dagger. He felt an irresistible pull calling to him to grab the handle. He plunged the dagger into the lock, at which the ground shook violently. Dominic smiled as his bracelet began glowing ominously. A massive rhino statue rose from the ground, turning slowly into a living metal zord. This was where the rhino powers resided. He activated the morpher, turning once more into the Rhino Ranger.

"Thanks Dai Shi." He stated, turning to face his foe. "Without you, I'd never have claimed the rhino powers. Now you've got a fifth Ranger to deal with."

Dai Shi watched as Dominic leapt onto the back of the Rhino Steel Zord, leaving him to his defeat. He could already see Carnisoar and the Rangers zords doing battle over the treetops, so he knew where Dominic was going. As he considered his failure, he felt an energy rising within him and saw a dark, swirling energy surrounding his hands. He smiled as he realised that his journey hadn't been wasted.

"Thank you too Rhino Ranger." He commented. "If it weren't for you I'd never have mastered the Zukado powers. I owe you a debt. I'll be sure to repay you in kind. First of all, I have a throne to reclaim."

Carnisoar easily smashed back the Ranger's ultimate attacks, scattering the zords on the ground.

"Why do you bother to fight?" He taunted them, smashing them out of their zords with a vicious attack. "I have more than enough power to destroy you. I have no idea why Dai Shi hasn't defeated you by now."

RJ grabbed Lily tightly in his arms as the Rangers struggled back to their feet. Carnisoar still towered over them ominously. He brought up his spear, preparing to strike.

"Lily, I love you." He told her, squeezing her tightly. If he was going to die today, he was going to do so in the arms of the woman he loved. He hadn't intended for things to move so quickly with her, but there was no one else in the world he could think about as he faced his end. It was unfortunate that it took staring death in the face to realise that he had made the right choice after all. She was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. As the Rangers prepared for the final strike, they felt the ground shaking, drawing Carnisoar's attention.

"What's happening?" Theo asked.

"I'd say it has something to do with that." RJ surmised gesturing to the Rhino Steel Zord as it came into view.

"Sorry I'm late guys." Dominic called from the back of the Zord as it charged, smashing into Carnisoar. "It took me a little while to claim the powers"

"It's awesome." Casey stated. Dominic looked down on them as Carnisoar regained his feet.

"If you think that was good, wait until you see this." He continued, activating the Rhino Zord's transformation sequence. "Rhino Steel Zord Warrior Mode."

"Another Megazord." RJ commented. "We can never have too many of those things."

"Go Dominic!" Lily yelled as he pressed the attack, hammering Carnisoar brutally.

"I was so close!" He yelled realising his defeat was close at hand. "How is this possible?"

"Rhino Blade Slash!" Dominic roared, powering up the zord's sword. He struck the sky overlord, sending energy coursing through him as he was destroyed. Dai Shi watched the sky overlord being destroyed from his vantage point on a nearby cliff.

"Thank you Rangers, you saved me having to do it." He commented. "I now have all the power I need. One overlord down, two to go."

Later, back at Jungle Karma, the Rangers celebrated their victory with a healthy round of fresh pizzas. Dominic laughed and joked with the others as they pondered their new ally.

"That Rhino Steel Zord is incredible." Lily commented, wolfing down a mouthful of pizza. "I've never seen power like that."

"At least now your powers are stable enough to use." RJ commented. "I knew you could do it Dominic, I never doubted you for a minute."

"Well, I could have been a little understanding." Theo interjected. "Sorry Dominic, I guess I didn't really give you much of a chance."

"I understand." Dominic told him. "I really didn't make much of a first impression."

"Well we should have given you a fair chance." Casey stated. "Look, I know I haven't really done much to welcome you into the team yet, and I know I've given you a hard time, but we couldn't have beaten Carnisoar without you."

"You totally saved our butts." Lily continued. "We were up against the wall until you came."

"Well we have one less overlord to worry about now." RJ stated. "That the rhino powers are safely with Dominic where they belong."

"Now there's only one thing to worry about." Lily interjected. "What'll Dai Shi and the Overlords do next?"

"Well, as long as we have each other," RJ began, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her over into his lap, "we'll be able to face anything they throw at us."

"In the meantime, we haven't really thrown you guys an engagement party yet have we?" Fran pointed out, gathering a bottle of wine and some glasses. "Does anyone want to make a toast?"

"Casey?" Dominic asked. Casey just shook his head and held up a hand.

"You've known RJ the longest." He stated. "I think the newest member of the team should have the honour. All in favour?"

Everyone in the room other than Dominic held up a hand to log their vote. Dominic smiled at the gesture, realising that this was Casey's way of accepting him into the group at last. As Camille handed him a glass, he stood up, bringing everyone's attention to the centre of the room.

"RJ and I go way back, and I've never really known him to have much luck with women." He began, pacing the room. RJ squeezed Lily gently as they awaited the rest of his speech. He was a little nervous about what Dominic might have to say, and was sure that there would be embarrassment to come. Dom smiled as he observed the slightly pained expression on RJ's face. He then decided to be kind and avoid an embarrassing anecdote. "I've only known Lily for a couple of days, and I can already see that she's the kind of woman you deserve to be with. I hope you'll both be really happy together. Lily and RJ."

"Lily and RJ." They all chorused, holding their glasses up before taking a drink. RJ turned Lily into him and kissed her passionately, sealing the promise between them.

"OK, we could do without the live show." Casey remarked in a chuckle as they parted.

"Oh shut up." Lily reprimanded him. "It's our engagement party. We deserve a little time."

"Lily, let us see the ring again!" Fran implored her. Camille and Fran rushed over to their friend's side to admire the ring. Dominic took the opportunity to leave the room for a little quiet time. He was glad he now had a place among the team, but there was still something nagging on his mind. As he stood on the balcony, looking out over the city, Master Mao came to him.

"You claimed the rhino powers as was your destiny Dominic." He told him. "I couldn't be prouder of you."

Dominic smiled at the spirit of his old master. He was glad he had appeared to him. "Thank you Master Mao." He replied softly. He began to run his hands through his hair as he prepared to bring up what had been bothering him. "Master Mao, why didn't you appear to me sooner?"

The old master came to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I knew how much my death would upset you." He told him. "I didn't know if you were ready to see me just yet."

"I thought you didn't want to see me." Dominic sighed. "I thought maybe you were disappointed in me or something."

"Dominic, it was always your destiny to claim the rhino powers." Master Mao explained. "I needed you to claim your destiny. Everything I've ever done for you has led to that moment."

"You sent me away from the temple." He stated.

"You needed the experience of travelling the world to gain the strength to claim the powers." He said, pre-empting his student's question. "The powers were always yours, which is why Dai Shi couldn't unlock them."

"I just thought you wanted to get rid of me." He commented.

"I brought you back from India." Master Mao informed him. "I was the one that sent that feeling that it was time for you to return. I knew the time was right for you to claim the powers."

"But Dai Shi's release cost you your life." Dominic remarked, looking at the old master.

"I have to admit, that wasn't really part of the plan." He replied. "But everything's worked out for the best."

"I still don't understand why you didn't just come to me sooner." Dominic told him, a few tears beginning to form.

"I needed you strong to accomplish this mission." He explained. "I always wanted to come to you. I just knew it wasn't in your best interests just yet."

"I'll miss you." Dominic breathed. "You were always there for me. You were more of a father to me than my own dad ever was."

They were interrupted as RJ came out onto the balcony.

"Listen Dominic, would you like..." His words tailed off as he saw Master Mao there. "Oh, I'll just leave you to it."

"It's alright RJ." Master Mao told him. "We were finished here." He stood up placing a hand on his shoulder. "Go back to the party Dominic."

As Dominic left, RJ closed the door behind him. He approached Master Mao, hoping to satisfy his curiosity.

"Master Mao, I know how much Dominic means to you." He began. "Why did you have to put him through this?"

"I've always cared about Dominic." He replied. "I've been looking out for you since the day he was born. But I knew how important his destiny was. I needed to be sure he would be ready to accept his responsibility when the time came for him to claim the rhino powers."

"But you only met him when he was six." Dominic responded, noting the odd remark. "What are you talking about?"

"There's something I always wanted to tell him." He began, sitting on the stairs and gesturing for RJ to join him. "What I'm going to tell you, you can never tell Dominic. It's already gone too long. Knowing now would not do him any good; it would only upset him needlessly. I lied when I said I'd never had any children. A long time ago I had a family."

"What does this have to do with anything?" He asked him. Master Mao looked into his eyes as he began to explain.

"I was married at one time. She was the love of my life. Unfortunately I lost her to a foe I couldn't fight." He told him. "She never told me, but a few months after she became pregnant with our second child, she was diagnosed with Leukaemia. She knew that chemotherapy could harm or even kill the child, so she refused treatment. By the time she gave birth, her condition had advanced so far it couldn't be treated. She died a couple of months later."

"I'm really sorry to hear that." RJ said sympathetically. "What happened to the children?"

"Because of my responsibilities here, I couldn't take care of them." He told him. "I had them placed with other families until they were old enough, and then I asked their foster families to bring them to the temple."

"Your children were at the temple?" Dominic asked him. "Who?"

"Dominic is my first child." He answered. RJ's jaw almost hit the floor as he heard this. "He is my son."

"He's your son?" He asked a little shocked by this. "But..."

"It was better for him that he didn't know at the time." Master Mao told him. "I didn't mean to keep this from him for so long."

"So that's why you looked after him so much at the temple." RJ sighed, realising that he was telling the truth. Dominic had always considered Master Mao to be his father, little did he know how close to the truth that was. "You said you had two children..."

"I had two sons." Master Mao reiterated.

"So who...?"

"His brother was also at Pai Zhuq." Master Mao continued. "He was a year younger than Dominic."

"Who?" He asked again. He suddenly got a moment of realisation. Master Mao looked at him with a sadness in his eyes and nodded as he realised RJ had figured out the secret he'd kept from both of them for all those years..

"Now you know why their destinies are so closely intertwined." He asked him. "Why do you think I spent so much time trying to get them to get along? Why do you think I always separated them when they were fighting?"

"You've got to be kidding!" Dominic shrieked. "You mean?"

"Yes RJ." Master Mao concluded. "Jarrod is Dominic's brother."

RJ sat with his head in his hands as he tried to make sense of it all. Everything was different now. He couldn't let Dominic destroy his only family. Now more than ever they had to save Jarrod, they just had to release him from Dai Shi's grasp. Suddenly things weren't as simple as they had been. Now the Beast War had gotten a little more real.

"I'm sorry you have to carry this secret my friend." Master Mao told him. "I know it's hard, but I'm going to need you to take care of Dominic."

"This isn't fair Master Mao." RJ protested. "He has a right to know."

"It isn't in his best interests to know right now." Master Mao told him. "Go back to your party RJ. You and Lily deserve to be happy. Dominic will know the truth in good time."

As Master Mao left, RJ slumped down onto the stairs and sat staring into space. How was he meant to just go back to his party and concentrate on Lily now?


	7. Keeping Secrets is Hard

The following morning, Lily woke up to find RJ sitting on the edge of the bed, staring out of the window. She knew Master Mao had spoken to Dominic the night beforehand, Dominic had told his friends that much since it made him feel more at ease and less like Master Mao was somehow ashamed of him. However, RJ had been very quiet since then, so she knew something was troubling him. She came over to him, pulling the covers around him and hugging him tightly.

"You know, I never thought sharing a bed with someone could be lonely." She told him, flashing him a little smile. "Wouldn't you rather be in here with me?"

"You know I would be Lily." He replied, kissing her softly and taking her left hand gently in his. "I didn't sleep very well; I just didn't want to wake you."

"You're a terrible liar RJ." She giggled, resting her chin on his shoulder. She held her left hand in front of his face, flashing her engagement ring to him. "You can't fool me remember? I know you better than anyone. I know something upset you last night."

"It's nothing to worry about." He sighed, looking away from her. He could never look at her when he was telling a lie, especially not one as big as this. He had given Master Mao his word that he wouldn't tell the others about Dominic and his true parentage, least of all Dominic, and his sense of duty weighed heavily on him to keep that promise, but he knew it would be hard. He could barely look at Dominic for the rest of the night once he'd found out. How could he face him now knowing what he did? Lily frowned a little, seeing his reaction. She gently nudged the back of his head.

"RJ, don't lie to me!" She chastised him grumpily. "I know you're keeping something from me. We promised, no more secrets remember?"

"I guess I shouldn't have made that promise." He replied sadly. He turned to face her, shifting away a little on the bed. "Lily, I have no intention of hurting any of you, least of all you, but I found out something last night, something that I have to keep to myself."

"RJ, we're getting married." She reminded him, starting to become more than a little upset. "We're planning to spend the rest of our lives together, what could be so important that you can't tell me?"

"It's personal." He replied.

"RJ, there's nothing personal about ether of us that we shouldn't…"

"It isn't about either one of us." He interrupted her. "I found out something about someone I'm close to, something I have to keep from them. If I tell anyone, I'll tell them first. You understand don't you?"

"Well I suppose that's only fair." She sighed, looking down at the bedding. She still didn't understand what could be upsetting him like this, or why he chose to carry the burden alone. "Will you be telling them today?"

"I can't." He responded. "I was told in confidence and made to swear I wouldn't say anything."

"RJ, you can't do that!" She snapped. "If you know something important enough to get you this upset, then you have to say something."

"Lily, it really isn't that simple." He tried to explain. "Someone could get seriously hurt by this. I have to stay quiet, at least for now."

"I still don't understand, but I guess I can live with it for now." She said in a comforting tone, once more putting her arms around him. "Just know I'm here for the long haul. Even if you can't tell me what's going on, know that you can talk to me."

"I know, that means a lot to me." He replied, putting an arm around her. "This thing's really messing with my head."

"I can see that." Lily laughed, jabbing a couple of fingers into the sensitive spot on his ribcage where she had learned that he was ticklish. "I've had my arms around you for all this time, it's still over an hour until we have to be up and you haven't…"

"What makes you think I haven't thought about it?" He asked her, wrestling he playfully back into the bed and bombarding her with a merciless tickling assault. Despite being paralysed with laughter, she looked up and noticed RJ smiling. She had accomplished one thing at least; he seemed a bit happier with his current dilemma. She couldn't help being upset that she couldn't help him, or that he felt he couldn't confide this secret in her, but she understood that he was keeping a confidence. Finally ending her torment, R leant down, kissing her passionately.

"Thank you Lily." He whispered. "You have no idea how important it is for me to have you with me on this."

"Just don't think you can make a habit of keeping secrets from me." She replied, sweeping his arms out from under him, pulling him down into her arms. "I hate being in the dark about things."

"I'll keep that in mind." He replied, pulling the covers back over them.

A little later, Lily and RJ finally joined the others in the main room for some breakfast before heading down to the restaurant to begin prep work. Casey and Dominic were sitting watching a cartoon, finally finding something they both had in common. Camille was busy preparing breakfast for everyone, while Theo and Fran were engaged in some light exercises.

"Fran, I thought you guys would be sparring by now." Lily commented, noting the time. Fran still wasn't quite ready to train with the Rangers yet, and so her training sessions with Theo began a lot earlier. Unhealthily early as far as Lily was concerned, but it was one of the few times they had to train her.

"I'm not feeling too great." Fran told them as she completed a couple of sit-ups. "I asked Theo if we could take it easy today."

"Are you sure you should be here today?" RJ asked her, coming to her side and checking over her. "You're looking a little pale."

"I always look pale; I've never been a sun worshipper." She replies sarcastically. "I just feel a little tired."

"Maybe you should try getting some more sleep." Casey suggested.

"I got about ten hours." She replied, yawning loudly and getting off the training mats. She grabbed her purse, before heading into the bathroom. "Anyway, I'm going for a shower. Lily, if you're making yourself something, would you mind getting me some toast?"

"No problem Fran." She replied, heading to the kitchen. She had a feeling there was more going on with Fran than she was letting on. Theo cleared up the training equipment they had been using while Lily and Camille finished with the breakfast. They all assembled in the living room to enjoy breakfast together before the day ahead of them.

"Do you have any plans Casey?" RJ asked him. Casey was having the day off that day. He managed to tear himself from his bowl of cereal long enough to answer.

"I've just got a personal errand to run." He replied. "I'll not go too far. You'll be able to contact me if I'm needed."

"Well just remember we're meant to be heading out for dinner tonight." Camille reminded him. "You promised me two weeks ago."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Casey replied, hugging her warmly. "I've got something I want to talk to you about."

"I can't wait." She told him.

"As for the rest of us, it's the first day of the school holidays." RJ stated cheerfully. "We should be really busy today, so everyone on your toes."

Fran came back into the room, rubbing her eyes and forehead gently, sinking onto the couch, before grabbing a stack of toast and beginning to crunch through it.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Theo asked her. "You really look pretty out of it."

"I'll be fine Theo." She responded, kissing him on the cheek. "It's sweet that you worry, but I'm a big girl."

"Uh...Fran, are you going to eat ALL that?" Dom asked her pointing to the massive stack of toast she was holding in her hand.

"I'm hungry." She replied. "I didn't have much to eat last night."

"Well it sounds like you might be coming down with something." RJ interjected. "Just try not to overdo it. Let us know if you need some time."

Lily watched RJ head into the kitchen, thinking about the dilemma he was facing. He seemed to be acting strangely around the apartment, almost as though he was trying not to spend too much time with any of them. She should have guessed whatever he had found out had something to do with one of her friends.

She looked around the room trying to think about what had been going on in the apartment that morning. Dominic hadn't really said or done anything of any real note, in fact RJ hadn't said anything to him at all this morning. He'd only really spoken to Casey and Fran in any real way.

She struggled to remember anything odd about the way either of them was acting. She remembered that Casey had said something about running a personal errand, but she couldn't remember him saying anything about what it was. If anything, he was being more than a little defensive and cagey about the details. Was he hiding something? He also seemed to be keeping it from Camille; he said that he wanted to talk to her about something when they went to dinner tonight. Maybe that had something to do with what was bothering RJ. Maybe he knew what Casey was planning.

Then again, he wasn't the only one that was acting strangely. Fran genuinely did look awful that morning. She could barely stay awake. Her mind seemed to be on something else since she'd arrived, and she was being a bit strange around Theo. Normally they almost had to be separated with a crowbar. But this morning she was keeping her distance a little. She'd only really given him a peck on the cheek. RJ also seemed to be quite concerned for her welfare. He'd asked her if she wanted to take the day off, despite knowing how busy they'd be, and he'd told her to take it easy and let them know if she needed personal time when she insisted on staying. Her eyes shot open wide as she suddenly got a thought.

She remembered only a couple of months ago Camille acting similarly. She was pale, seemed constantly tired and weak, eating habits all over the place. She cast a gaze over to Fran quizzically, wondering if her suspicions were correct. Was she pregnant?

It made sense. The symptoms seemed to fit, and it would explain why she was a little distant from Theo. It then clicked with her. Theo didn't know! If he did, then he wouldn't have been letting her train, and he'd have been fussing over her a lot more. He was completely OCD when it came to cleanliness and hygiene, but also when it came to taking care of his friends. If he knew then Fran would barely be allowed to move. It made sense now, somehow RJ knew.

"Well if RJ won't tell me what's going on," Lily mused to herself, "maybe Fran will."

The lunch service period was more like a rugby scrum than a restaurant service. Much as RJ had predicted, just about every school kid in Ocean Bluff had descended on JKP to celebrate the beginning of their holiday. Dominic and Fran were constantly harassed on the table service, while Lily was finding herself under pressure at the cash register. They were taking plenty of cash, but the queue was already quite deep, and some of the kids were getting increasingly impatient. She noticed Fran setting down her tray to catch her breath, looking more than a little exhausted. Her arms were shaking as though struggling to hold any weight as she set down the tray. The look on her face was on the verge of transitioning from exhaustion almost to the point of pain. Lily abandoned the register, much to the annoyance of the customers and rushed to Fran's aid, collecting the tray.

"Fran, are you sure you're alright?" Lily asked her. Fran nodded weakly, but the expression on her face completely betrayed the lie. Lily looked at her unconvinced. "Fran got to the bathroom and straighten yourself out. You look like hell."

"I'll be alright." She responded, starting to straighten up. "I just need..."

"You look like you need a month in a health spa." Lily interrupted her protest. "If you don't want me to get RJ to send you home, go to the bathroom and clean up."

Fran gave up on trying to argue with the Yellow Ranger and left without another word, grabbing her purse from behind the counter as she went. Lily still wasn't happy with the resolution. Pulling off her apron, she followed her friend through the kitchen.

"Something's up with Fran." Lily told RJ, Theo and Camille as she came through. "Camille, can you help Dominic out the front?"

Camille nodded wordlessly and headed out to the restaurant floor. RJ noticed Lily giving him an odd look as she made her way upstairs to help Fran. It was almost a look of accomplishment. He had no idea what was going on in his fiancée's head. He was too busy trying to concentrate on the pizzas and not the guilt he felt about not telling Dominic what he knew.

Lily arrived at the bathroom, knocking the door gently before entering. Fran turned around, staring at her with a look on her face that was somewhat like a deer caught in headlights. She hadn't heard Lily knocking because she was too busy checking the device in her hands. Lily came to her side, placing an arm around her and looking at the pregnancy test she had taken.

"It's negative." Fran whispered.

"Is that a good thing?" Lily asked. Fran nodded, but it was clear she was a little conflicted.

"I didn't plan to have kids at my age, but I was still kind of excited by the idea you know?" She answered honestly. "I was kind of coming around to the idea."

"I take it you didn't tell Theo." Lily surmised. Fran shook her head gently.

"I only started to suspect myself about a week ago." She responded weakly. "I've been feeling really run down lately, and then I was...late."

"Well you know it isn't because of this." Lily replied. "So, you and Theo eh?"

"You remember he took me to the beach a few weeks ago?" She asked. Lily nodded in recollection; remembering thinking it was kind of cute that he was taking her out for the day. "Well, we had a really great time. It was starting to get late and there was a beautiful sunset. We were cuddling under a blanket when we realised no one else was there."

"That sounds really romantic." Lily commented.

"We...went a little further than either of us intended to." Fran explained. "We weren't planning it, we haven't even really talked about it that much, so we weren't...prepared."

"Well I suppose it's not an ideal way to remember your first time." Lily suggested. "At least you'll remember it for that romantic sunset with Theo now, and not an unplanned baby."

"I suppose that's true." Fran replied. "So why have I been feeling so crappy lately?"

"Fran, isn't it obvious?" Lily asked her. "We're always running out and leaving you here..."

"I know you guys are needed as Rangers." She interrupted weakly. "I know my place is..."

"Fran, you've been working six or seven days a week here since you started." Lily reminded her. "You're always working late and I can't remember the last time you had a holiday."

"I haven't." Fran replied. "I've never claimed any."

"Fran, it's no wonder you're exhausted." Lily stated, holding her warmly. "You're doing the job of about three people single-handed, and you're training on top of that. You should take it easy. There's no shame in taking a break."

"I don't want to stop training." Fran replied. "I'm really starting to enjoy it. I want to keep..."

"If you don't want to stop training, you won't have to." Lily reassured her. "Talk to RJ, I'm sure he'll not mind you cutting back your hours."

"But you guys need me." Fran protested.

"You'll do us no good if you pass out in the middle of a shift." Lily stated bluntly. "Camille's here too remember, I'm sure you can split the time between you a little more evenly."

"I suppose you're right." Fran sighed, finally relenting to her friend's concerns.

"I'm glad you're finally seeing sense." Lily responded, hugging Fran once more. "Now, let's hear more about you and Theo."

A short time later, Lily came back down to the restaurant to help clear up. Theo came over to her, noting that his girlfriend was not with her.

"Is Fran OK?" He asked as a slight look of concern crossed his face.

"She's sleeping on the couch." Lily told him. "She's just exhausted."

"I should probably have seen that coming." Theo remarked with a sigh. "We really take the work she does here for granted."

"Well she's catching up on some rest now." Lily told him. "She agreed to talk to RJ about cutting back her time."

"Well I for one won't be complaining." He stated. "She really does do too much around here."

Theo went back to cleaning just as RJ came into the kitchen. She made her way over to him, pulling him down into a long kiss and wrapping her arms around him.

"She's alright." Lily told him. "I think it's great what you did for her. She's OK, she's just tired."

"Not that I mind being greeted like that, but what are you talking about?" He asked her. "Who's fine?"

"It's alright RJ, she told me." Lily replied. "You don't have to keep it from me. You don't have to keep it from Theo either."

"Seriously Lily, you're going to have to rewind a few scenes." He remarked. "Keep what from Theo?"

"I know RJ." Lily reminded him. "I know Fran thought she was pregnant. It's alright, the test was negative. She was just exhausted because of all the time she puts in here..."

"Wait a minute, Fran thought she was pregnant?" He asked.

"You didn't know?" Lily asked him. "I thought that was the secret you were talking about."

"Fran never said anything to me." RJ told her. Lily immediately turned red and buried her face in his chest as the embarrassment of blurting her friend's secret suddenly hit her. RJ held her tightly, thinking about his own dilemma. Lily's current embarrassing situation had come about because he couldn't tell her what he knew. She thought she was helping him, but he had no idea of Fran's situation. He just hoped that this was the worst of the consequences of keeping this secret.

Lily meanwhile was sobbing into his chest. She had inadvertently betrayed a friend's confidence, something she would never consciously have done. It hurt her to think that she had blurted out Fran's secret so carelessly. The only consolation was that she knew RJ wouldn't say anything about it. That still didn't ease her mind any about what was bothering RJ.

"Lily, I need some tomatoes." He told her, taking some cash out of his wallet and handing it to her. "Go into town and get some for me."

Lily took the money sheepishly and wiped her eyes, before grabbing her coat and leaving the restaurant. She knew he was sending her away to get over her embarrassment, she's seen five whole crates of tomatoes in the fridge earlier, but she didn't protest. She needed to clear her head anyway. She cast her mind back to her earlier suspicions, thinking about the earlier conversation RJ had with Casey. It now seemed more likely that had something to do with what was upsetting him. It pained her to see RJ so troubled. As much as her first attempt to help him had gone so embarrassingly wrong, she was determined to help him. She needed to find out what Casey was up to.


	8. Casey's Surprise

Casey arrived in a florist in the early afternoon, observing the bouquets on display thoughtfully. Despite his boasts, and despite his previous relationships, he's never actually bought a bouquet before. He marvelled at the prices on display. Wasn't it just a packet of seeds, some dirt and some water? He looked at the display thoughtfully as a sales assistant approached him.

"Can I help you sir?" She asked.

"I'm looking for something special." He said meekly, trying not to look too lost in this environment. It was uncomfortable to be in such an unfamiliar position. "I want to...I mean...me and my girlfriend..."

"You really don't need to explain." The assistant interrupted him. "Flowers are the perfect way to say 'I love you' sir."

Casey stroked his neck as he thought his options through. He finally relented.

"Give me two dozen roses." He snapped. The assistant took his order, wrapping the flowers in paper and handing them to him.

"I'm sure she'll love them." She replied.

"I really hope so." Casey replied nervously. "This isn't going to be an easy night."

"Are you proposing or something?" The assistant asked him. Neither of them noticed Lily walking past the window. She was heading on her way to the greengrocers when she saw Casey there out the corner of her eye.

Lily was still totally embarrassed by her earlier humiliation. She hated the fact she had gotten her facts so wrong about Fran's situation. Fran still didn't know about her foot-in-mouth situation, but it would only be a matter of time before she found out. She just hoped she had a chance to talk to Theo before she found out. Lily was trying to think of how to explain her inadvertent betrayal when she arrived at the florist only to see something most unexpected. Casey was there. She hunkered down out of sight behind a display nearby.

She ducked down behind a bouquet as she watched him. He was being very friendly to the sales assistant, VERY friendly. She hadn't been keen on his relationship with Camille at the start, but she had been around for a while, so they kind of knew her now. In some ways, Camille was becoming a good friend these days. It was then the thought came to her. Casey hadn't exactly had an easy relationship with her. He hadn't been able to admit to himself his feelings for her when they first got together. She'd had a pregnancy situation with another man's kid, and she was a lot older than him, neither of which had been exactly helpful in creating an ideal relationship.

Lily covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself screaming as the thought came to her. Was Casey cheating on her? It was understandable in a way. She was a lot older than him, their priorities were different. She was a lot older and had been in an abusive relationship for years. She was looking for a stable relationship for the long term, while Casey was still really finding his feet as far as romance was concerned. He always flirted with female customers and he was never short of dates, even when he WAS interested in Lily.

She watched him accept the bouquet with a smile and shrunk into the display. Was the florist his bit on the side? She couldn't believe he'd be callous enough to give Camille a gift that his "mistress" had given him as a token of affection. She didn't want to think of him that way, she liked Casey, but things seemed to fit. She didn't know what annoyed her more. The thought that he was cheating on Camille or that RJ knew about it and didn't say anything. If Casey was about to dump her for another woman, she had a right to know. She buried her face in the display as he left the shop. Noting that he left without another look, she concluded that maybe she wrong. At least she hoped she was.

"The florist isn't your bit on the side." She whispered to herself. "Maybe someone else is."

She followed him a little while before he went into a nearby hotel. He talked to the receptionist for a while, before sitting on a couch in the reception area. Lily hid behind a display nearby as she watched him. She wasn't keen on Camille at the start, but surely even she didn't deserve this.

RJ opened the evening paper to read it as the others were clearing restaurant.

"RJ, what's bothering you?" Dominic asked him. RJ looked at him as casually as he could. RJ found it hard to look at him. He knew this humungous secret about him. He felt guilty about knowing what he did, but he felt an obligation of duty to Master Mao to keep his secret. He had already suffered one embarrassing misunderstanding because of that secret. He shook his head while looking away from him. Dominic laughed seeing this. He'd known RJ long enough to know how bad a liar he was, and how much it affected him when he was keeping a secret. It was then that he noticed the headline of the article RJ was reading.

"That's why Grizzaka's been so quiet!" He announced out loud, snatching the paper from him. "The Crystal Eyes."

"I'm pretty sure that's what he's planning." RJ sighed. "The alignment is coming tomorrow night."

"Well we know where five of the eyes are." Dom commented. "What about the other three?"

"I hope I'm wrong, but my theory is Grizzaka already has them." He replied. "I've had the feeling for a while things were too quiet. If he is planning to revive the phantoms, it'll be bad news for all of us."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." Dom told him. "I guess it's just as well I got the rhino powers."

RJ watched him go, still not sure how to act around him. He knew that Dominic getting the rhino powers was Master Mao's plan all along; he'd been planning this course of events ever since Dominic was born. He also knew that it was only a matter of time before Dai Shi returned. He still didn't know how he was going to deal with that eventuality. Jarrod was Dominic's brother; he couldn't let them face off against one another. Even though he didn't yet know, he knew it would destroy Dominic if anything happened to Jarrod before he found out. He held his head in his hands and groaned out loud.

"You're really asking a lot this time Master Mao." He grumbled. "I don't know how long I can keep this under wraps."

Lily continued to observe Casey from outside as he appeared to be waiting. Eventually a woman a little older than him with long blonde hair in an expensive blue suit came over to him. Casey got up and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Lily almost fell over as she watched this. She was right all along, he was cheating on her, and apparently this was the woman he was cheating with.

"Camille's better looking than her." Lily whispered to herself. Casey followed her to the elevators and seemed to be going up to the rooms. Lily came over and watched the display on the front of the elevator as their car arrived at the top floor.

"Oh you are so busted!" Lily remarked, pressing the call button and getting in another car. She pressed the button and made her way to the top floor. Camille definitely didn't deserve to be treated this way. Arriving on the top floor, she followed them at a safe distance, seeing them arrive at the door to the penthouse suite. She ducked down behind a housemaid's trolley and watched them. He smiled at her and handed the other woman the bouquet. She seemed to like the flowers, smiling at him warmly and nodding in approval. She pulled out a key card and opened the door gesturing him inside.

"Oh you have got to be kidding!" She gasped watching him follow her. "God, Camille's going to be devastated!"

Back at JKP, RJ was leafing through a telephone directory to find the address of the lab where the crystal eyes were being held. He knew the doctor's name was Dr. Sylvia Jennings, he just hoped there wasn't many other S. Jennings in the phone book. He found to his good fortune that there was only one. Apparently her lab was only a few blocks from the restaurant. He resolved they'd go round there the following day to get them, it would take a while before Grizzaka figured out what was happening. Of course, getting away with even three crystal eyes could cause them problems.

Back in the hotel, Lily watched Casey leave the penthouse suite, smiling broadly. The woman seemed to be pleased too. He shook her hand warmly before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. Lily couldn't watch this any longer and strode over purposefully. Casey got a slightly panicked look on his face as she approached him.

"Lily this isn't..." He was cut off as she punched him hard in the stomach.

"Miss, you don't understand..." The other woman began, being cut off as Lily held up a hand in her face.

"I'm not interested in what you have to say!" Lily roared, completely furious with Casey over his betrayal. "Casey, you're in a relationship. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Miss, I think you misunderstand..."

"If you don't want the same, butt out!" Lily interrupted her. "Look Casey, don't you think you're being..."

"Lily..." He wheezed, fighting to regain his breath. "It isn't what it looks like."

"Oh I think it's exactly what it looks like!" She snapped. "She trusted you, she loves you. She deserves so much better than this you selfish piece of..."

Lily's heart skipped a beat as the woman presented her with a business card.

"Yvonne Banks, reservations director." She read aloud from the card. "You work here?"

"I think there's been a misunderstanding miss." Yvonne responded.

"Lily, that's what I was trying to tell you." Casey responded, coming over to Lily and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm booking a suite for the weekend. I was planning on treating Camille to a luxury weekend package."

"B...b...but the flowers..."

"I asked Yvonne to have them kept in storage." Casey cut her off. "I wanted the petals to be scattered on the bed for us arriving."

"He's also got a bottle of champagne and an ice bucket ordered for arrival." Yvonne interjected. "He's been telling me all about this Camille. She's a lucky girl."

Lily started to turn beetroot red and looking around for a place to hide. She had managed to humiliate herself for the second time in as many days. This clearly wasn't RJ's secret either.

"Lily I love Camille." He told her. "I'd never do anything to hurt her. I just wanted this to be a surprise."

"Casey I'm so sorry." Lily whimpered, trying hard not to just keel over and die of embarrassment on the spot. "I was sure you were doing the dirty on her."

"This Camille's lucky to have a boyfriend like Casey here," Yvonne commented, "and a friend willing to defend her so passionately."

"I can't argue with the second part." Casey replied, rubbing his abdomen thoughtfully. It hurt like hell, but he was chuckling as he saw the funny side. It wasn't long ago that Lily was deliberately keeping Camille at arm's length. It was a testament to how far Camille had come that she was willing to stand up for her like that. He placed an arm around Lily as she shrunk further into herself, totally mortified by the situation.

"I'll leave you to it." Yvonne commented. "Enjoy your weekend here Casey."

As Yvonne left, Casey squeezed Lily tightly, laughing at her predicament. He could see how much this situation was killing her, but he couldn't help finding it funny.

"Lily, it's alright." He chuckled. "I think it's kind of cool the way you were standing up for Camille."

"I can't believe I thought you'd do something like that to her." She murmured, staring into her chest, still not knowing where to look. "You must think I'm a total idiot."

"Well it doesn't feel good that you thought I'd do something like that." Casey commented. "But I think it's great you're accepting Camille now. It's great the way you were willing to look out for her when you thought I was going to hurt her."

"I suppose I didn't really think you could do that." Lily remarked, wiping away a tear. "All the pieces just seemed to fit. You were being so cagey and evasive. I now know it's just because you wanted to surprise her."

"I was going to tell her tonight when we went to dinner." He told the Yellow Ranger. "RJ already squared our time off."

"I'm sure she'll love it." Lily told him. "She's really lucky to have someone like you."

"She's also lucky to have friends like you." He replied. "Now, if you wouldn't mind helping me out the door, my gut still hurts like hell."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Lily said apologetically, walking the Red Ranger towards the elevator. "Can you forgive me?"

"Let me borrow your motorcycle for the weekend and we have a deal." He replied. Lily smiled at him, realising that despite how embarrassingly everything went down, things were going to be alright.

"It's a deal." She replied. With that, they waited on the elevator. Casey was looking forward to dinner with Camille with a sense of excitement. He was still nervous about how she'd take the invitation to spend the weekend in a hotel with him, but he couldn't think of anything he wanted more. He'd grown to love her so much over the time they'd spent together. Things were going well for the Red Ranger, Camille meant so much to him, he didn't care about the fact he'd blown all his savings on this weekend. Thinking about the look on her face when she stepped into the hotel room made it all worth it.


	9. A Bad Day

A/N: I know the last chapter wasn't my best work, more of a transitional chapter to move the story along. I'll finish off this story here, so that I can begin the Phantom's arc in the near future. Hope you enjoy the final chapter.

The following day, RJ and Casey left early to speak with Dr. Jennings. The newspaper article RJ had read indicated that she was aware of what the crystal eyes were, though it was unlikely she knew about Dai Shi and the overlords. If she was aware of the danger the eyes would put her in, she'd never have advertised the fact she had them so openly. They arrived in the lobby of the institute, being greeted by the sight of a security guard.

"OK Casey, go ahead." RJ implored him, gesturing to the stairs. Casey stared at him blankly.

"Why am I going?" He asked. RJ took a seat on one of the chairs in the lobby area.

"If security asks who you are, then you'll pass as a student far easier than I will." RJ replied matter-of-factly. "Now, how about using some of that charm and seeing if you can't convince her to give us the eyes."

Casey rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs, realising that RJ was entirely serious about this plan. He hoped that Dr Jennings was in a cooperative mood. Here he was, a complete stranger, about to walk into her lab where she was studying some of the most significant archaeological artefacts of her career and he was just going to walk up to her and ask her to hand them over just like that. The whole situation didn't sound like it was likely to yield positive results.

RJ sank down into the chair and unfolded his newspaper, turning to the cartoons section. Until Casey came back with the eyes, it wasn't as though he had anything better to do, and he needed to take his mind off the increasingly awkward situation with Dominic. It still didn't feel good to keep this from him, and if Lily's embarrassment with the Fran situation had told him anything, it was that there was bound to be consequences the longer this went on.

In the fortress, Grizzaka flew around the throne room in a rage, smashing everything in his path. Jellica cowered in fear of his wrath. Carnisoar's destruction had significantly weakened their ranks, and he still didn't know where Dai Shi was. To say things were straying more than a little from the plan was a chronic understatement. Worse still, they had still only located three of the crystal eyes and time before the alignment was growing short.

"We only have three crystal eyes!" He roared, rounding on the other remaining overlord. "Where are the other five?"

"We've looked everywhere Grizzaka." She shrieked, quailing in terror from his rage. "The alignment..."

"I know when the alignment is!" He snarled, preparing to strike. It was then that a familiar sarcastic laugh filled the room. Grizzaka's anger only grew as Dai Shi entered the room. 

How could he have the audacity to return here? Did he not know he would be destroyed? Dai Shi began a slow clap.

"I have to congratulate you on the brilliance of your plan Grizzaka." He sneered, approaching the master of the bear spirit. "You have lost one overlord, your enemies grow more powerful by the day and your brilliant plan is to destroy your own allies."

Grizzaka released Jellica from his grip and began advancing on Dai Shi. Dai Shi held his ground, never flinching as his usurper approached him.

"You always were short-sighted." He taunted the bear. "You always destroy everything around you when things don't go your way. I suppose I should take back my throne before you destroy that too."

Grizzaka could take no more, lashing out with a brutal swipe, but found it being blocked with ease by his enemy. A panic quickly rose in him as Dai Shi glared into his eyes with an evil smile. How had he gotten so powerful? Dominic had claimed the rhino powers, he knew that. Dai Shi had failed to claim them from the nexus. Dai Shi snarled as dark energy flared around him, throwing Grizzaka across the room dismissively. The overlord of the land looked up at him from the floor in horror. Dai Shi had somehow harnessed the zukado power.

"I see you recognise the zukado power." He remarked as Grizzaka pulled himself back to his feet. The bear approached him, before turning and heading past him.

"I waste my energy here." He said as casually as he could. Dai Shi had humbled him with little effort. He didn't want to appear weak before his new enemy, but he knew he was in serious trouble. With the zukado power under his control, Dai Shi could destroy him, and likely would. "I have Rangers to destroy."

He strode down the corridor with Jellica, fury still burning in his heart. He had been humiliated by a mere human. No human had been able to best him in thousands of years.

"I must go into Ocean Bluff and gather fear to augment my power." He stated with authority.

"But the eyes..."

"The eyes are of no consequence to me right now!" He interrupted her. "If I don't gather the power to destroy him soon, then I'll lose everything anyway."

Meanwhile in the throne room, Dai Shi triumphantly took a seat back on his throne.

"You always were short-sighted Grizzaka. You were always dismissive of humans," he stated, pulling a newspaper out from his belt, reading the article about Dr Jennings' research, "When humans were the very ones who have gathered what you seek for you."

Back at the restaurant, Fran came into the kitchen having had a much-needed rest. Lily smiled as she saw her friend bounding in the door with her usual energy and vigour.

"I told you it was just exhaustion." Lily remarked, putting an arm around her. "You look so much better than you did the other day."

"I feel a lot better." Fran admitted, smiling back at her. "I was totally wiped out."

"Have you talked to Theo?" She asked. Fran didn't need to answer, her silence and nervous fidgeting spoke volumes. Lily sighed, thinking that it wasn't that long ago she was at a similar stage in her relationship with RJ.

"Fran, you need to talk about this." Lily told her sagely. "This is important."

"Lily, the test was negative." Fran reminded her. "There isn't a baby."

"That's not what I mean and you know it." Lily replied. "The test was negative. You don't have an unplanned baby to worry about, but this is an important part of your relationship. You need to talk about it."

"I just...I mean...It's just that..."

"You got yourself so worked up because things went further than you intended to." Lily reminded her. "You both have to figure out if that's where the relationship is going, and if you're ready for that kind of relationship."

"I guess you're right." Fran sighed, looking down at her shoes. "I suppose that's one of those talks we just need to have. I just don't want Theo to think badly of me."

"Theo loves you. I'm sure he would have panicked as much as you did if he'd known about the test." Lily told her. "I'm sure he'll be happy to talk about this. It'll set any fears he has to rest as well as your own."

"I suppose that's true." Fran relented. "I guess I should tell Theo about the pregnancy test."

Both girls' attention was suddenly grabbed by a loud thud. They were so busy talking that they hadn't noticed Theo coming into the room, though obviously the shock of hearing Fran talking about a pregnancy test had overcome him. Fran knelt down next to his unconscious body, trying hard not to laugh too hard.

"I can't believe it." She giggled. "He fainted. Mr cool, smart and confident fainted."

Dominic arrived in the room a short time afterwards, noticing Theo lying on the floor in a daze. He started to stir a little, rubbing his head as he came to.

"What happened?" Dominic asked as he helped Theo back to his feet. "Theo, are you OK?"

"Uh, kind of." He began. "Fran, could I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"I think that would be a good idea." She replied, gesturing up the stairs towards the back room. Unfortunately, that was exactly when the solar morphers bleeped, signalling the latest attack on the city.

"Theo, we'll talk when you get back." She assured him. "You're needed, go."

"Just...don't overdo it." He told her, smiling at her. "I wouldn't want you to make yourself ill again."

"I won't Theo." She promised him. "I love you."

"I love you too." He shot back, heading out the door. As the Rangers made their way to confront the latest of Grizzaka's monsters, hid mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour, but not one of his thoughts was on the battle ahead. Fran had been a little strange with him lately, and now he knew why.

He'd felt a little bad about what had happened on the beach that night. He loved her so much, he wanted it to happen, but it just didn't feel right. They'd gone further than they intended to, instead of feeling some sense of completeness or happiness, he only felt a little regret. He wished he'd waited; he wanted it to be a special moment between them. Not some embarrassing incident on a public beach punctuated by a pregnancy scare. He hadn't talked to Fran about it since then. Despite his disappointment, he didn't want to say anything to her. He didn't want her to feel like he was disappointed in her. Nothing could be further from the truth, he loved her and he wanted to stay with her. He just wished he could have given her something more special than he had.

This really wasn't how he had anticipated his first experience to go. He had imagined the night of his wedding, a honeymoon suite in some warm vacation spot and a day where he'd spend all his time with the woman he'd spend the rest of his life with, just spending a whole day in her arms. He could only hope that he hadn't disappointed Fran too much on that night. She deserved so much better than that.

Back at the lab, RJ's morhper bleeped.

"What is it?" RJ asked.

"RJ, the city's under attack." Lily rushed out over the communications system. "RJ, its Grizzaka!"

"He's attacking the city himself?" He asked a little shocked. "Carnisoar's destruction must have accelerated his plans. I'll be there as soon as I let Casey know."

"RJ, we need both of you." Dominic told him. "Grizzaka's too powerful."

"We still don't have the eyes." He told them. "Until we get them, Casey has to stay here. Jellica and Dai Shi are still unaccounted for. If we all go, Dr Jennings will be a sitting duck!"

Casey arrived at that point, holding up his hands in defeat.

"She wouldn't give me the eyes." He told him. "I knew she wouldn't. If Dai Shi or Grizzaka..."

"Grizzaka's attacking the city." RJ interrupted him. "Lily and the others need me. You stay here. If Dai Shi gets his hands on those eyes, we're all in danger."

Before Casey could protest, RJ left the reception area quickly before Casey could protest. He wanted to help his friends, but he knew RJ was right. It was virtually a guarantee that Dai Shi would come for the eyes. He heard a loud explosion and sounds of a struggle coming from the direction of Dr. Jennings Lab.

"I hate it when he's right." He grumbled as he ran up the stairs, morphing as he went. He arrived to find Dai Shi in his armoured mode, laying waste to the lab. He looked around, relieved to see Dr. Jennings taking cover beneath a desk. She seemed to be unharmed, though he could see that Dai Shi had already acquired the case with the eyes.

"Give those back!" He yelled, throwing himself into the attack. "The phantoms aren't coming back!"

"I beg to differ." Dai Shi responded, blocking his attack. His energy flared, throwing Casey hard against the wall, stunning him.

"How did he get so strong?" He asked himself. Dai Shi chuckled as he saw Casey pulled himself back to his feet.

"You have the Rhino Ranger to thank for that." He answered, calling forth dozens of Rinshi warriors. "If it wasn't for our battle in the nexus, I'd never have mastered my zukado power."

"But the rhino powers belong to Dominic." Casey shot back. "How could the powers of the nexus affect you?"

"I didn't know until recently, but there is only one explanation." He commented throwing an envelope at Casey's feet. "I went back to the temple and searched Master Mao's possessions for confirmation. Make sure the Rhino Ranger sees that. It's quite a read."

Casey was about to pursue as Dai Shi turned to leave, but he heard a shriek coming from the lab. He turned to see Dr. Jennings being attacked by the Rinshi. He was torn between going after Dai Shi and Dr. Jennings, but he knew that he had to protect her. If he didn't, she was going to be seriously hurt. Dai Shi had succeeded in distracting him from his goal.

The battle in the middle of the city was going as badly for the others as Casey's battle with Dai Shi was. Try as they might, the Rangers just couldn't seem to get and maintain the upper hand. Grizzaka was truly as powerful as his boasts.

"Guys, we need to attack as one." RJ called out, leading the attack. They all surged forward; lashing out at him, but another power surge from his zukado power threw them back.

"We can't do this alone." Lily stated. "We need Casey!"

"I just hope he can get those eyes before it's too late." RJ added. "Until then, we have to keep trying."

Dai Shi was making his way back through the woods when he heard the roar of an engine behind him. He turned around in time to see Casey powering up the Strike Rider. He barely managed to power up in time to save himself from the power of the attack. Casey dismounted, powering up into Jungle Master Mode.

"I underestimated you once Dai Shi." Casey snapped, pulling into a guard. "It won't happen again!"

"Well I suppose at least I get to destroy one Ranger." He remarked. "I suppose Grizzaka can have the pleasure of taking care of your friends."

"You may have noticed, but we're not exactly pushovers." Casey responded, launching to the attack. "I'll stop you raising these phantoms, and my friends will take care of Grizzaka."

A fierce battle ensued, and Casey quickly found himself overmatched. Dai Shi blasted him to the floor with the zukado power. He picked up the case, preparing to leave.

"This was fun Red Ranger." He laughed dismissively. "You should have finished me when you had the chance. Now you'll never be a match for me. Just as your friends are no match for Grizzaka."

"But together we're more than a match for anyone who can stand against us." Casey shot back, hauling himself to his feet. "You're also forgetting one thing. I don't need to beat you. I just need to stop you getting away with the eyes."

Powering up his jets, he flew past, snatching the case away from him Dai Shi and launching away before he could respond. It wasn't in Casey's nature to run from a fight but he knew his friends would need him. All he could hope was that they could hold out long enough for him to stash the eyes somewhere safe and get over to the battle in time to help out.

Dai Shi watched the Red Ranger go, knowing he couldn't catch up to him. He had lost the eyes, and he still had no idea where Jellica had gotten t with the other three.

"I suppose I can satisfy myself with the consolation prize." He mused to himself, powering down and heading back to the city. "I get to watch the Rangers destroy yet another of my enemies.

Later in the day, Lily, Camille and Dominic celebrated their victory in the restaurant as Casey and RJ came back with the case.

"I thought you were taking those back to Dr. Jennings." Lily stated.

"She decided to let us look after them until the danger passed." Casey replied. "Where are Fran and Theo?"

"They're upstairs." Lily told him. "They needed some privacy. They've got a lot to talk about." RJ nodded in understanding. He knew about what had happened between them, so he guessed that they would need some time alone.

Up in the apartment, Theo and Fran sat, largely in silence. They knew this was a discussion they needed to have, but it was so awkward. Theo finally broke the silence.

"So the test..."

"It was negative." Fran interrupted him. "I'm not pregnant."

"Fran, why didn't you tell me?" He asked her.

"I wanted to know for sure." She replied. Theo held her hand softly, looking into her eyes.

"Fran, I can tell when you're keeping something from me." He told her. "You were scared, I get that. I was scared too..."

"You passed out." She reminded him. Theo smiled a little at this memory.

"It was a bit of a shock." He told her. "Look Fran, it goes deeper than that. We haven't been the same since the beach."

"I don't know what you mean." She responded sadly.

"We haven't been talking as much, we've been distant." He began. "Fran, we've barely touched each other since it happened."

"I think we can both admit things got a bit carried away." She admitted. "Theo, I don't want you to think badly of me. After it happened..."

"Fran, I never could think badly of you." He interrupted her. "I thought maybe you felt like I pressured you or something. I never would have wanted you to feel forced into doing anything you didn't want to do."

"Theo, I wanted it to happen." She told him. "I...just didn't feel like it was quite right."

"I let you down." Theo guessed sadly. "It should have been a great moment for us, but I guess I messed it up. I'm sorry I ruined it."

"Theo, we were both involved." She reminded him. "I guess I never thought of my first time being on a beach..."

"I really wish we had talked about this." Theo interjected. "Fran, I kind of felt that way too. I felt like I'd messed it up for both of us. I wanted to take that step with you, but I wanted it to be special for us."

"I guess I did feel a little disappointed by the way it went down." Fran confessed. She saw the look on Theo's face and realised how it could have sounded. "I wasn't disappointed by you; I was disappointed that it wasn't more of a special occasion. It kind of felt like we rushed into things and ended up missing out."

"I guess it wasn't the way I pictured my first experience." Theo stated with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"

"I kind of saw a candle lit dinner, some wine, soft music," she said, describing the scene, "I never once doubted it would be with you though."

"I kind of saw it being with my wife." Theo confessed. "You know the ultimate act of love with the woman I'd spend the rest of my life with."

"I never knew you were so old-fashioned." Fran stated. "I think that's really sweet. I like the idea."

"Fran, I'm sorry we never talked about this." He told her. "Where do you want to go from here?"

"Theo, I love you." She replied. "I want us to stay together. Things might not have gone the way we intended them to, but I don't want to lose what we have."

"Neither do I." Theo answered, holding her closely. "Fran, I love you so much."

"I love you too Theo." She replied. Lying on the couch in each other's arms, they felt glad to have finally gotten their feelings out in the open. It felt good to have found each other again.

They finally returned to the others downstairs. Seeing them enter the room arm in arm, Lily and RJ exchanged a glance and smiled. They were happy for their friends. Clearly they had managed to sort out their problems. It was obvious to everyone that they were meant to be together, so they were glad that they hadn't let what had happened on the beach come between them.

On the other side of the room, Casey sat down, only to shift awkwardly. He pulled out the folder that Dai Shi had given him from the waist band of his jeans. He had forgotten completely about it.

"Dom, Dai Shi gave me this." He told him. "He said he got it from Master Mao's personal effects. He told me to give it to you."

"Why?" Dom asked, opening the folder.

"He said it had something to do with why the nexus allowed him to access his zukado power." Casey replied. He took a long sip from his drink, but setting it down he saw all the colour draining from Dominic's face. His mood noticeably changed as he read the contents. RJ saw the commotion and came over. Dominic dropped the folder on the table in disbelief. RJ's blood froze as he saw what was inside. It was Dominic and Jarrod's birth certificates.

"I don't believe this." He whispered under his breath. "Master Mao was my dad?"

The others came over to him as he continued to stare at the documents in disbelief.

"Where did you get these?" RJ asked him.

"Dai Shi gave them to me." Casey told him. "He said there was a reason the nexus allowed him to access the zukado powers, despite the rhino powers belonging to Dominic."

"It's because we share a bloodline." Dominic interjected, holding up the other birth certificate. "Jarrod's my brother."

"I really wish you hadn't found out this way." Master Mao told him as he appeared in the room. "I only ever wanted what was best for you both. I tried to make sure you were looked after. I couldn't take care of you..."

"You lied to me!" Dominic roared, standing up from the table, sending his chair flying. "You lied to both of us!"

"Dominic, let me explain..."

"Save it!" He snarled, turning from him. RJ came over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Dominic hear him out, he only did what he thought was best." RJ explained.

"You knew about this?" Dominic snapped, throwing off his hand.

"I only found out a couple of days ago. Master Mao made me swear I wouldn't tell you." He answered. "Dominic listen..."

Without warning, Dominic connected with a vicious right hook to RJ's jaw, sending him to the floor. Lily rushed to his side to check on the man she loved.

"For the sake of the Rangers and destroying Dai Shi, I'll keep fighting with the team." He commented. "But don't for one minute think that I'll forgive you."

As Dominic stormed from the room, the others looked at RJ in disbelief. Lily held him, finally understanding what had been bothering him so much. It must have been terrible to know something so big about his best friend and not being able to tell him. He got up, turning on the spirit of Master Mao.

"I said this would happen." He protested. "I knew he'd find out. It was always going to hurt him. You should have told him."

"I wanted to protect him." Master Mao answered.

"Well now he's hurting worse than ever." RJ snapped. "And keeping this from him has cost me my best friend. I hope it was worth it."

With that, Lily and RJ left the room. Master Mao vanished into the ether leaving Fran, Theo, Casey and Camille alone in the restaurant. The revelations of the night had created a lot of problems for them, none of which would be resolved any time soon.

Fin.

As promised, that's the end of the Rhino Ranger arc. I'll start the Phantoms arc soon, and you can expect the script to go out the window in favour of my own version.


End file.
